One Time Thing
by the64single
Summary: Kaiba never really knew when he started to tire, when all he worked for slowly stopped being what he wanted, & when Kisara became all he thought about. He never really knew what it meant to love so his actions were just one-time things. Or so he thought.
1. Chapter 1: Mokuba's Wish

"Just what in the _hell _do you think you're doing?"

A silver haired girl had completely set up shop across of the very table that Seto Kaiba had been sitting at, flipping open her laptop, spreading out a few papers and even opening a book. She looked up in confusion, and even Kaiba had to admit that her big blue eyes took him by surprise.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there," she said sweetly, flashing him and equally sweet smile. Those electric blue eyes – the most ferocious blue Kaiba had ever seen. Kaiba couldn't tear himself away.

A waitress came by, asking if the two would like anything to start off.

"That woman leaving at once," Kaiba snapped, and the waitress turned to the woman across of Kaiba for help.

But she just smiled. "I'll have a melon soda and a bowl of _edamame_. Would you like anything? My treat."

Kaiba was incredulous. "Absolutely not."

"Alright, then just the soda and soybeans," she told the waitress, smiling as she sent the worker off. Kaiba waited for an explanation as to why the silver haired girl had come and seized his table when there were clearly other tables available, but she just turned to her laptop, clicking on something and then glancing down at her book.

"Don't make me repeat myself," Kaiba snapped, attempting to obliterate her with his own ice-cold blue eyes. Briefly, he noticed the giant gold cuffs on both of her wrists. What was she, an Egyptian princess? Kaiba could have laughed once more – a pale skinned, white haired girl, an _Egyptian_?

The girl looked up, blinking several times like she was coming out of a trance. "Oh, sorry. Did you say something?"

What—what was happening? Did she just ignore him? "I asked what the hell you're doing."

"Reading?" the woman said, pointing a slender finger down at her open book. "And job hunting. And shortly, I'll be eating soybeans and drinking melon soda," she said with a smile.

Kaiba resisted the growl at the back of his throat. "I mean what the hell are you doing at _my _table," he snarled, biting off every word.

"This is my favorite booth," she answered, as though this were the answer to life itself. "And my favorite restaurant."

Kaiba was aware of the effect he had on women. He was rich, famous, and easy on the eyes. Women were, naturally, drawn to him. However, he also aware the effects of women in general. They were lying, conniving devils and could never be trusted. They can have a sweet exterior, fluffy, like a young rabbit, but let your eyes slip off them for two seconds and they warped into treacherous snakes. He refused to let himself be won over by some broad with a pretty face and any relationships he had with the opposite sex were strictly physical.

The president of Kaiba Corporations was aware that this was also _his _favorite casual restaurant, and _his_ favorite booth. Mokuba had been coercing him to retreat from the office for at least a few hours for lunch and this was the place he had been coming to for the past four years – Tsuki's. To this exact booth, everyday. _For_ _four years. _So, how could this _possibly_ be some strange woman's "favorite booth" when he had never seen her occupying it before?

If Kaiba could laugh, he would have right now. This was just some raging fan girl's tactic to try and score her fifteen minutes of fame. She would scurry off in a few minutes and rant on and on about some spiel about how she and _the _Seto Kaiba had shared an afternoon in Tsuki's.

Treacherous snakes. That's all women would ever be.

But she didn't leave. She sat there, quietly, reading her book and occasionally looking up to check something on her computer before returning those electric blue eyes to the crisp pages of what looked like a new book. She would absently pluck _edamame _from the bowl and gently weave them out of the pods with her teeth before placing the empty shells in a tiny ceramic container the waitress provided. Her thin lips would open and close, searching for the straw to her melon soda, her eyes glued on the material in front of her.

She was _quiet_. She didn't bother him, not one bit. Except for the fact that she did. It was a sinking feeling. The bone grinding feeling of recognition – of knowing that you know someone, but not knowing how, or even why you would possibly have any connection to that person whatsoever.

"It's like, you can see these things coming. Of _course _the killer's in the closet, silly girl," the woman said to herself softly with a little giggle. Kaiba glanced down at the book she was reading. She was already half way done!

"If you are not going to leave, then you are to sit there quietly, and pretend as though you don't exist. Do you understand?" Kaiba snapped. "I have work to do."

The woman giggled again, and Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "I seemed to have missed the joke."

She glanced up, gazing at him through those cerulean orbs in her face. "Oh, no, it's just that I don't think you're as mean as everyone says."

Kaiba was about to fire back some nasty remark to prove that he was, indeed, the picture that 'everyone' painted of him, but her phone rang, several patterned bleeps, and she reached into her purse to retrieve it. Kaiba glanced at her bag. Now, he didn't know much about women's fashion, but that was no thrift store bag. It was designer – _expensive _designer, at least 250,000 yen. Her laptop was also very slim, but he could tell from the logo that it was made top of the line, with the best graphic and sound cards, probably even custom made. That Egyptian princess story seemed more plausible, except for, well, the _Egyptian _part. She was just rich, wasn't she?

But what would a rich fan girl be doing here? Women were bad enough as it was, but _rich _women were the absolute _worst_. They were selfish, needy, and demanding, with egos so big no amount of designer purses could contain it. So, who the hell was she?

"_Nii-sama_," she said into the phone with a smile. _Nii-sama_. Kaiba felt his insides clench from that word. That was what Mokuba called him all the time. She was extremely polite to her brother, and didn't address him by name. "Eh? Really?" she said, still grinning. "That sounds so great, I'll call you in a little to talk. _Jaa_."

The woman snapped her phone close and tucked it back into her bag and flashed a bright smile at Kaiba. "Well, booth buddy, it's time to go," she said, shutting her laptop, and placing a napkin in her book to mark her place.

Booth…_buddy_? Kaiba was outraged. Did she even _know _whom she was speaking to?

The pulled out several bills from a little wallet and Kaiba was once again confused, as it seemed to be made of colored duct tape. She placed the crumpled bills on the table – more than enough to cover the measly order of melon soda and _edamame_ before glancing back at Kaiba. "Have a lovely evening."

And with that, she disappeared. Gone, just like that.

Kaiba glanced back at his laptop. What the hell had he even done today? He hadn't even gone back to the office at the time he said he would – it was now already four in the afternoon and his "lunch break" was supposed to have ended three hours ago. His computer screen spat out a few bits of numbers but Kaiba didn't even know what they meant. How long had that woman been sitting there and why had Kaiba not done anything productive all day long?

He shook his head. Why did he even think that woman had anything to do with whether or not he was productive? If he had not done anything, it was his own damn fault and no one else's. There was no one to blame but himself – no one to _depend _on but himself. And he liked it that way.

The brown haired man massaged his temples, resting his elbows on the table, allowing his eyes to close briefly. Things were so hectic. Now that he didn't have high school – or even college – as an excuse, everything was work. Kaiba knew that he made it look easy – hiring and firing and being a hot shot CEO of the most powerful company in the world – but it the plain and simple truth was that it wasn't. Sometimes the decisions he made weren't favorable to everyone, but _dammit_, he had worked too hard to let all of it crumbled because he _felt bad. _No, there was no room for feelings in a business room.

"Kaiba-_sama_," greeted a gruff voice, and Kaiba slid open one eye, tilting his head slightly to see Isono standing beside him. He adjusted his suit and glasses as though before the presence of a strict parent.

"What is it?" Kaiba growled, lifting himself from the table.

"Your brother has been looking for you all day," Isono informed him. "And you never came back to the office, so—"

Kaiba slammed his laptop shut, gathering his papers and shuffling them into a black folder with a golden Kaiba Corporations insignia emblazoned on it. He shut his books, cramming them into his briefcase and stood up. "Mokuba is eighteen now, can he not go out and purchase his own dinner?" Kaiba snapped, sliding out of the booth. He sent one more fleeting glance to where that woman had been sitting before sweeping out of the restaurant.

"Mokuba-_san _wanted to eat with you, Kaiba-_sama_," Isono told him and immediately, Kaiba felt a pang of guilt. The only person – the _only _person – in this entire world that had never expected anything of him just wanted a chance to share a meal with him and the first thing he had done was snapped.

"Is he at home already?" Kaiba asked, keeping his tone hardened. The sliding doors opened as he approached and Kaiba led his right hand man through it and into the limousine parked right in the front. He wondered if they had been searching for him.

Kaiba scoffed inwardly. As though it mattered whether or not he was present. He knew his workers particularly liked when he was not there hounding on him. Today was a break for them; they were _glad _that he wasn't there.

"Mokuba-_san _returned home after class. It was his first day at college," Isono said, moving into the driver's seat.

"I know that," Kaiba snapped. How could he forget his baby brother's first day at the university? He had accompanied his brother to school and everything, until, of course, he had met up with the geek squad. They were older than him by a few years, but Mokuba still enjoyed their company, and vice versa. Kaiba hated it.

"I apologize sir. But yes, Mokuba-_san _is at home, awaiting your return," the guard said, glancing up at Kaiba through the rear view mirror. Normally, the frigid blue eyes of the Kaiba Corporations president would have met him through the glass, but today, the younger man had his gaze turned to the window, watching the houses and cars blur as they passed.

There were times when Isono actually felt bad for his boss. He had been living at the Kaiba mansion before Kaiba and Mokuba were even adopted, and he remembered the elder brother exerting some acts of kindness, seeming like an innocent soul. But he had hardened quickly, destroying everything in his path ruthlessly to climb to the top, as well as building Kaiba Corporations up from the ground after completely remodeling its products.

But being a CEO of a company – especially at the rate that Kaiba had ascended – came with a price, and that price was light. Kaiba was shrouded, blinded by taking care of the company that Isono felt like his boss forgot to take care of himself sometimes. Kaiba's world revolved around Kaiba Corporations and Mokuba, and that's it. Isono knew that Seto Kaiba needed light in his dry, darkened world.

No one could grant him that, though. He was _Seto Kaiba_ – as unpleasant and hard to please as anyone on earth could possibly be. No one could bring light back into his life; Isono was willing to bet his life that Seto Kaiba would pass life by, blinded by darkness.

"We are here, sir," Isono said, pulling the limousine to a halt in front of a grand building. It was pearly white, balconies galore, and at the very top in the penthouse was the Kaiba suite. They no longer resided in the mansion Gozaburo Kaiba had imprisoned them in – no, Kaiba was sure to make sure to erase everything of their past and start anew.

Kaiba pushed open the door, adjusting his coat, before slamming the car door behind him. "See you tomorrow, Isono," Kaiba said to his guard as he swept by, entering the building. Isono couldn't help but be a little surprised as he watched the tall brunette retreat. Kaiba never bade him farewell. He normally just left Isono in silence, the older man wondering if it was alright to go or not.

Isono furrowed his brows. Had something happened today? He quickly shook the thought from his head. Even if something did happen, it wouldn't have affected Kaiba at all; he was about as emotional as a boulder. Perhaps the president was just being nice. Isono left it at that, and hopped back into the limo, driving away before his boss decided to change his mind.

"_Nii-sama_," Mokuba greeted as Kaiba stepped through the door. His brother had grown up quite a bit these past five years. He had chopped off that annoyingly long hair, but still left it a complete, tousled mess atop his head. He dressed a lot cleaner now, but still had a tendency to wear plain t-shirts under vests. Mokuba liked vests and scarves and other clothing accessories that Kaiba saw no need for. But at least Mokuba was dressing like an adult.

The soft scent of roast filled the air and Kaiba tossed his things aside, kicking off his shoes. It felt good to be home. He shrugged off his coat, tossing it aside and making his way into the kitchen, where Mokuba seemed to have been working all day to cook.

That was something else about Mokuba – he had learned to do chores. They didn't have a maid cook or clean for them, as Mokuba tended to household activities and actually seemed to enjoy it. Kaiba could care less. It was better this way – Mokuba would learn to be independent. The less people in your life, the less you needed to depend on those people. The less you needed to care.

"I made your favorite, _Nii-sama_," Mokuba said with a bright grin. He gestured to a filet he had been using. The glass cover was smeared with precipitation, as it was still piping hot, and Mokuba had left it closed to keep in the flavor as well as the temperature. "Beef filet."

"You didn't need to do that," Kaiba said, glancing around at the other things Mokuba had made. He really had spent all day in here, hadn't he? "Today was your first day, you should have made something for yourself."

"Yeah, but I know it's been hard for you at Kaiba Corp lately with all the recent layoffs, so today can be for both of us," Mokuba said, still smiling. He faltered for a moment, doubt flashing in his grey eyes. "T-that's okay, right, _Nii-sama_?"

"Of course," Kaiba answered immediately, rolling up his sleeves to wash his hands. _Kaiba's_ own brother needed to ask him if it was alright for him to cook _Kaiba's_ favorite meal for dinner? He couldn't help but feel a little insulted. What had Mokuba grown to think of him? "Thank you, Mokuba."

Mokuba seemed a little surprised by Kaiba's offer of gratitude, but didn't say anything about it. "_Nii-sama_, did something happen today?"

Kaiba raised an eyebrow, flicking the water off his hands. He wiped off with a nearby towel. He picked up a few dishes and began to carry them into the living room. "Nothing in particular. Why do you ask?"

Mokuba shrugged, flashing his brother a grin. "I don't know. Forget I asked," he said, taking the pan of filet and placing it on the table atop a cloth. "Did you figure out the glitch in the program?"

"Not yet," Kaiba answered, seating himself on the leather couch. That's what he was supposed to have been doing today, right? Trying to figure out the glitch in his newest upgrade for a game he had created, as well as find out who the hell made the mistake anyway. Finding glitches as damn annoying and Kaiba was more adept at the business aspect of Kaiba Corporations rather than the extremely technical things. That's why he hired _technicians_. "How was school?"

"It was neat," Mokuba said with a grin. He was extremely elated that his brother asked. "College is so awesome! I started at nine today, and ended at twelve! It was great, way better than an eight to three day at high school, and all the teachers did were syllabuses and class descriptions, so it was easy. I'm taking math, literature, economics, intro to programming, and intro to business law."

"Do not overwhelm yourself, Mokuba," Kaiba warned him with a stern glance. Domino University may not be as prestigious as other schools, but it was still a university. "College is meant to be very self-directed; do not let yourself be blinded the rest of the semester by the easiness of the first few days."

"I know," the raven-haired boy said with a smile. "I'm gonna go to tutoring and everything. And I might try out for the track team, too."

"Sports in college?" Kaiba asked, furrowing his brows. He was not the athletic type himself, but Mokuba was quite talented at running – or, well, as talented as one could be at running. Kaiba had gone to all of his brother's track meets at high school, of course, and was surprised that Mokuba had done so well. But, he _was _a Kaiba, and therefore it was in his genes to succeed.

"Yeah, I think it'll be fine," Mokuba said, waving him off. "Yugi guys have study sessions every week and they invited me so I think I'll be fine. They're in higher classes and will help a lot."

Kaiba scoffed. "That group of losers have the brain power to light up a tiny ant city, nowhere near good enough to be teaching you anything, especially not that mutt _Katsuya_. What is he even doing at a _university_, let alone teaching my brother? Get yourself real tutors, Mokuba."

"It'll be fine, _Nii-sama_," Mokuba assured him with a gentle laugh. Of _course _Kaiba would say something about Katsuya Jonouchi. "Don't worry too much about me. I'm sure Yugi them will be enough, but if it'll make you feel better, I'll ask Isono to help me find a good tutor."

"Do that," Kaiba said, slicing a piece of the beef filet. "I can foresee your intelligence actually decreasing substantially should you spend an ample amount of time with Yugi and the geek squad."

Mokuba chuckled. Some things never changed, did they? However, as he watched his brother, still singing the same tune as five years ago, he couldn't help but wish that they did. He had been hoping that his brother would meet a girl – that would definitely soften Kaiba a lot! Mokuba was glad that Kaiba had been taking some classes at Domino University before, and figured that now that Kaiba had a lot more time, he would be able to meet a nice woman at work or something.

Over the years, Mokuba would be eating breakfast, watching morning cartoons while waiting for his brother to get ready, and he, indeed, would be greeted by a woman. He used to think that it was good that his brother was out being more social, and Mokuba had made sure to ask for their names and commit it to memory, should he ever see her around. He didn't. There weren't a lot of girls that came by to spend the night, but there were enough to make Mokuba not care to learn names. They were temporary. Like workers or clothes, even; disposable after some amount of time.

But Mokuba didn't want his brother to be alone. He just wondered what kind of woman Kaiba would actually let into his life. Kaiba never spoke about the women that stayed over, and every time Mokuba asked, he always said it was business, but Mokuba wasn't an idiot. He knew that his brother was quite good looking – the girls were probably import models as well – and he was rich, and smart so of course he had woman fawning over him. But Kaiba did tend to take advantage of people and those girls were no different.

Mokuba glanced back at his older brother placing the food Mokuba cooked into his mouth, chewing. He had flicked on the television, changing it to some news channel with the stock exchange rolling by on a marquee at the bottom of the screen. Kaiba's eyes followed as he watched numbers fly tumble across the screen and Mokuba knew that their brief conversation was done.

Some things never did change. But Mokuba's only wish was that they would. He was quite unaware, however, that his wish was soon going to be granted.


	2. Chapter 2: Help

Mokuba didn't really want to be a businessman.

But, obviously he couldn't tell his brother that. He was taking introduction to business and business law just for show. That wasn't something he wanted to study – he could easily learn that from Kaiba if he wanted to. What he really wanted to do was study computers.

The world that he had grown up in had been consumed in technology – especially since back then, Kaiba was more of an avid dueler than now. Holograms and programming, that's what Mokuba wanted to do. But he didn't want to push that onto his brother yet. He wanted to take it slow and show Kaiba that, yeah, he was able to program and help out the corporation in that way. Mokuba knew that if he just threw the idea at his brother, he would definitely shoot him down.

"Have a great day, _Nii-sama_," Mokuba told Kaiba cheerfully as he slid out of the Lexus. Kaiba drove to work more now, as the limousine could be a little flashy sometimes.

"Likewise," Kaiba responded. The second Mokuba shut the door, he sped off to Kaiba Coporation. Mokuba sighed, watching the black Lexus fade smaller and smaller into the distance.

"Oy, Mokuba," called a familiar voice and the teenager turned to see Yugi and his friends. Katsuya Jonouchi had called out to him, waving slightly as the group approached. Mokuba actually thought it was sweet that even after all these years they still hung out together. Mokuba was glad to be included in their group.

"Hey," he greeted, adjusting his messenger bag, catching up with them.

"Is Kaiba in a bad mood or something?" Yugi asked, seeming to have noticed Kaiba's cold departure.

"That guy's always in a bad mood," Hiroto replied, rolling his eyes.

"Work's just been stressful," Mokuba said, waving them off. "We've got a lot of competitors nowadays, and Kaiba's been having to lay people off."

"You mean fire 'em?" Jou asked, rolling his eyes. "That's just like Kaiba. Tossin' up pink slips like confetti and not givin' a damn that he's puttin' people outta work."

"Ah, I know he seems mean and stuff, but really, it's just work," Mokuba said, not really sure if he was trying to convince Jou or himself.

"Um, so anyway, what classes do you have today, Mokuba?" Anzu asked as they crossed the threshold of the gate into Domino University. It was a grand campus, several acres large – the only college in the city.

"Math and intro to programming," Mokuba told her, trying to hide his excitement for the latter class. "Are you still majoring in dance?"

Anzu grinned and nodded sweetly. "Yup! I actually already have an offer to start teaching! I start next week."

"That's great," Mokuba said, smiling back. Everyone was doing so well and had grown so much these past five years. He glanced down at his watch and offered them an apologetic smile. "Sorry, guys, I gotta go. I'll see you afterwards for lunch or something?"

"Won't big bro get his panties in a bunch if we hang?" Jou asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, he'll be busy today anyway," Mokuba assured them. "Okay, see you guys later. I'll call."

They all bade their farewells and waved, heading off to their own classes. Mokuba navigated his way through school, ducking into the auditorium where his first class was taking place. It wasn't anything too special – an intro class that he knew he was going to ace, so he barely listened, wondering how his programming class was going to be. He was determined to do well.

The first thing he noticed was a girl. She was really young looking for a graduate student – probably the teacher's assistant, as she was perched in a desk at the front of the room – maybe about the same age as Yugi and his friends, so a year or two younger than Kaiba. Her hair was let down over her shoulders, long and silver, some strands falling into her face as she nibbled on the eraser of a pencil, scribbling something in a notebook, then nibbling on it again. As Mokuba passed, she looked up, and Mokuba was locked in by her fiery blue eyes. She smiled kindly and Mokuba felt heat come to his face as he shuffled into a seat near the back.

She was very, _very _pretty.

The professor – a middle-aged man with thick glasses – handed the woman a stack of papers and said something to her. She nodded and picked herself up, the papers in hand, beginning to pass them out to the class. She _was _the teacher's assistant. Dammit, how was Mokuba going to focus when she was so pretty, just sitting there cutely at the front of the room? He really was going to need a tutor.

She placed the syllabus in front of Mokuba, and he noticed the giant gold cuffs on her wrist, making her hands seem more delicate and soft. He turned his gaze down to the paper as she moved away.

The professor began talking about the syllabus and Mokuba focused as hard as he could. The class was a lot more difficult than he had expected; Mokuba knew how to press buttons and analyze data displayed on screens, but he had no idea how to do any of the programming behind it and this stuff was unlike anything he had ever seen. C and Java were going to be like learning a new language, and this was just going to be the beginning.

Even after the first class, Mokuba felt a little overwhelmed. He was smart, yes, but not as smart as his brother, and he wasn't sure that he could keep up with the class's pace, especially with four other classes, helping his brother part time at Kaiba Corp, _and _thoughts of trying out for track and cross country. He knew that he needed to drop the class. Maybe he could just do what his brother wanted him to do: business.

"Oh, and this is my lovely TA. She'll be here through out the semester for assistance, and her office hours are Tuesdays right after class in room 305A," the professor said, gesturing to the silver haired girl, who was busy sketching something in her notebook. She looked up and flashed a sweet smile, nodding in agreement.

"Feel free to ask if you ever have any questions," she said politely, smiling.

The professor dismissed them and Mokuba found himself standing in front of the silver haired girl. "Hi," she greeted with a smile.

"I, uh, need to give this back," Mokuba said, sliding the syllabus to her. For some reason, she seemed really familiar, but he had no idea how he would know her. "I'm going to drop the class."

"Huh? Why?" she asked, as though truly disappointed. She didn't make a move to take the papers back. Mokuba wondered if he was even doing the right thing by giving the syllabus back. Was that weird?

"Oh, ah, well, I just, um, don't think I can handle this class. It sounds really crazy and I already have a lot on my plate," Mokua tried explaining, stumbling over his words. "Maybe I'll take it next semester or something."

Mokuba made a move to leave, but her voice stopped him. "Are you a freshman?" she asked, and Mokuba turned, nodding. The girl smiled and stood up, gathering her notebook and stuffing it into her navy blue bag. "Okay, how about this: you keep this class and I'll tutor you," she said, coming out from behind the desk. "Totally free of charge and everything, as long as you promise to try really hard. Also, they pay me to be a TA so, it's actually a part of my job. Do you want to major in computer programming?"

Mokuba nodded. "Uh, yeah, sort of. It's all really new and I think it might be too much, though, so I don't know if I can do it."

"Well, I know it sounds hard, but it's really fun once you get the hang of it. You _can _do it and I promise I'll help out. Deal?" She held out her pinky finger.

Mokuba blinked several times, and then a smile broke out on his face. He linked his pinky finger with hers. "Deal. Thanks, _senpai_."

"Oh, it's no problem," she said with a smile. She reached into her bag and pulled out a little piece of note paper. She scribbled something down briefly and handed it to Mokuba. "When you set your schedule, give me a call or come talk to me after class and we can try and find something that works out for you, okay?"

Mokuba held the paper between his fingers as though it were a treasure. "Um, thank you, _senpai_. I'll be sure to let you know."

"Well, I have a lunch, so I'll see you around, Mokuba -_san_," she said, waving as she swept out of the room, leaving Mokuba quite speechless. How did she…know his name? He didn't remember giving it to her. He glanced down at the paper and furrowed his brows. There were ten digits there, but no name. He shrugged, folding the piece and tucking it into his pocket. It was more polite to address her as '_senpai_' anyway.

He left the room with a smile.

* * *

><p>"Why are you here again?" Kaiba asked, looking up to see the silver haired woman sitting across of him again. She had ordered melon soda and soy beans and set up her laptop and placed a notebook in front of her. She had been here for an hour or two just reading and glancing at her computer, occasionally doodling something in her notebook, placing a soybean between her lips, sipping from her melon soda. It was as though Kaiba didn't even exist.<p>

She looked up, nibbling on her pencil's eraser. She'd been here everyday for about a week now. "I told you already: this is my favorite booth."

"I'm sure you can make other booths your favorite," Kaiba said, narrowing his eyes. "I have work to do."

"And I'm not bothering you," she added with a smile. "I have work to do, too, you know. I'm on a job hunt. Being a teacher's assistant doesn't pay that well."

"I don't remember asking for your life story."

"I wasn't telling it," she replied, placing her chin in the palm of her hand, her thin lips curling into a smirk. Kaiba rolled his eyes in fury and turned back to his laptop. He did not understand why this woman was lying to him. She was obviously well off, what with that expensive purse and those giant golden cuffs. "You know," she said, tilting her head in a rather minute sense of arrogance. "I can help you with your work."

"I doubt a woman like you would be able to assist me in any way," Kaiba assured her, firing her a glare with his own blue eyes, trying to ignore hers.

She just shrugged. "Okay, if you say so," she said, turning back to her own computer. Kaiba scowled, knowing that it didn't seem like she was going to leave any time soon.

"If you insist on staying then it would be wise not to open that mouth of yours," Kaiba snapped, his fingers clacking away on the keyboard. He glanced down at his book, his eyes flying across the words, typing in more things. "Don't be a nuisance."

"I won't," the girl promised. And once again, she was true to her promise. For the rest of the afternoon, the woman didn't say a word, leaving Kaiba to his work as she did her own. The only sound she emitted was that of a crisp page turning as she read.

Why didn't he mind her being there? Okay, well, of _course _he minded. She was invading his personal space – the _only _personal space he ever got. It was only for a few hours a day, but honestly, a part of him was a little glad that Mokuba forced him from the office. No one knew about Tsuki's besides Isono and even then, he was only allowed to contact Kaiba in emergencies.

But here she was, this silver haired girl sitting across of him drinking her fizzy melon soda and eating her soybeans and Kaiba didn't snap at her and scare her off. He didn't even understand why. He could have easily done it, too; Seto Kaiba's gaze could crumple hardened businessmen, so why couldn't he do the same to her?

Before he could figure out a reason why, she was closing her book, shutting her laptop, and pulling out money from her little duct tape wallet. "Well, booth buddy, I have to run," she said, placing a few bills on the table. It was less than yesterday, but enough to cover the bill and then some. Kaiba scowled at that – 'booth buddy' – and didn't look up as she slid out of the table. "Have a lovely evening."

Kaiba heard her footsteps shrink away, and the jingling of the doorbell as she left. Just like that. She had come into his day at the same time – twelve in the afternoon – and left at the same time – four in the afternoon. And again, Kaiba had overstayed his lunch. It'd been this way for about a week.

He sighed and shut his own laptop, gathering his books. Tomorrow, when she came – no, _if _she came, why was he relying on her to show up? – he would definitely tell her to get lost. He hadn't gotten any farther today than he did yesterday. He had tried everything to fix the glitch in his upgrade but to no avail. It was absolutely frustrating, but Seto Kaiba refused to let a little bug bring him down.

He slid out the booth himself, sending a glance down at the bills the woman had left behind before turning on his heels and sweeping from the restaurant. The sun was lower in the sky as he made his way over to his black Lexus. He wondered if Mokuba needed him to pick him up or something – as he _still _couldn't drive – and flipped open his phone.

It rang once, twice, three times—

"_Moshi moshi_," Mokuba's voice greeted cheerfully.

"Mokuba, where are you?" Kaiba asked, clicking a button on his car keys. The Lexus let out a little beep, and a dull clack announced that the doors had been unlocked. Kaiba didn't have to ask Mokuba where he was to know he was with Yugi and his friends – he could hear them in the background chit chatting and watching television.

"Uh, with Yugi guys," he answered, sounding a little hesitant. Kaiba also knew that his brother knew better than to lie to him.

"Do you need me to pick you up?"

"Oh, no, that's okay. Anzu said she'd be able to take me home. We're gonna go to dinner," Mokuba told him. "That's okay, right?"

"That's fine," Kaiba answered. What else could he say? He wasn't friends with Yugi them, and didn't particularly like them, but they were Mokuba's friends now. Who was he to take away something that made his little brother happy? Even if they were complete idiots.

"Okay, well, I'll be home later," Mokuba assured him. "Thanks for checking in, _Nii-sama_. Hope work wasn't too bad."

"It wasn't," Kaiba said, starting the car. "I'm going to drive now, so I'll see you when you come home."

"Okay," the younger Kaiba answered. "_Jaa_."

"_Jaa_," Kaiba replied, snapping the phone shut. He tossed it into the cup holder and shifted the car into reverse, pulling from the parking lot. Where the hell was he going to go now? He could always go home, but for some reason, he didn't feel like returning to an empty house tonight.

Work had gotten stressful – with more competitors came more enemies, and with more enemies came the greater need to overcome them, and Kaiba would not settle for has-beens or slackers. A part of him…really hated laying people off. But it was his reputation; he had a company to run and he had no room to be soft. If a man wasn't working as hard as everyone else, then he didn't deserve to be a part of Kaiba Corporation.

The Kaiba penthouse was the only place Kaiba really had left, but without Mokuba there, it felt like a hollow cave. Mokuba was the only person that Kaiba had in his life; everything he had done had been for Mokuba. He was glad that his brother was able to have a childhood, and friendship, but he couldn't help but be annoyed sometimes. Kaiba hadn't had any of that.

But, he supposed that it was worth it. His little brother was happy and that was all he wanted.

It was just tiring, that's all. Running a company did have its glitz and glam, but with all good things come bad, and Kaiba used to think that the pros outweighed the cons, but lately he was beginning to feel the opposite. Tired. He had been running Kaiba Corp alone for over ten years and he was only twenty-three. Most twenty-three year olds were just starting to look for jobs, but still hung out with their friends, went to parties, socialized.

No, not Seto Kaiba. He had been a businessman since he was just a kid. So, friends? Parties? Social life? He had to give all of that up. Some people got tired of partying so much, of going to clubs and staying out until four in the morning only to wake up to a hangover, but really, Kaiba had never done any of those things once. He hadn't had the chance.

Kaiba shook his head, trying to physically shake those thoughts from his mind. What the _hell _was he thinking? He was too busy and too mature to be thinking about trivial things such as socializing and having friends. He was the richest, most powerful man in the world – that had always been enough for him.

It was that girl, wasn't it? That annoying girl who had sat at his table for one week. _One week_. Where did she get off spouting some nonsense about how that was her 'favorite booth' when Kaiba was sure that he had never seen her occupying that place ever before, as he had been there for four years himself? Kaiba realized that quite pathetically, that woman had been the only person other than Mokuba and Isono to be in his company for a very, very long time.

Not that she was _really _in his company, as they didn't speak much and the only words he told her were to shut up and not bother him. However, for some reason, he felt like…he knew her. Like she was tucked away in the deepest depths of his memories, but he had no idea how he would know someone like her.

Kaiba sighed, pulling into a café nearby his building. Home wasn't an option now, so he might as well have a cup of coffee and read the newspaper and maybe do the daily crossword or something until Mokuba came back. Coffee houses stayed open that late, right?

What the _hell _was _she _doing here? The same silver haired girl from literally, fifteen minutes ago, was sitting on a tiny stage in front of an old piano. The lights in the café were dimmed, glowing a dull orange that made her skin look almost gold. Her slender fingers were rolling along the keys as her soft voice filled the air. The golden cuffs on her wrists reflected light as she sang, her voice rising in a crescendo with the volume of the music.

Kaiba ignored her, making his way to the counter. "Hot coffee, black," he told the server, placing a bill on the counter. The worker nodded, pulling a cup from a stack and filling it with searing hot liquid from the machine, handing it to Kaiba at once. He left without taking his change and grabbed the newspaper from a rack. The money he had placed on the counter was more than enough to cover a measly cup of coffee and a newspaper. He placed himself on a table by the window, allowing the orange light to seep through the blinds as he sipped from his coffee.

He hated admitting it, but that woman actually had a pretty decent voice. It wasn't whiny or annoying high pitched, rather, soothing and sweet, like the first bite from a gourmet piece of chocolate. Kaiba had also never heard the song she was singing before – were those were own lyrics? If so, then she really did know the Japanese language.

Kaiba scowled to himself. How many times had he looked over the same paragraph over and over? Not a single word had registered in his mind. Wasn't there anywhere – _anywhere at all _– where he could just get some peace?

Kaiba pulled out the back sheet of the paper and plucked a pen from his pocket, deciding to start on the crossword. Working on the glitch for the new upgrade was going to be fruitless on a tired mind so doing a less straining activity – such as the crossword – was going to be a nice break. He was actually quite grateful that this coffee shop sold the English version of the 'New York Times'. Not only did it challenge his ability to understand the language, but also tested his vocabulary and understanding of American culture with the crossword.

He had filled in all but a few words before the woman's singing had stopped. He had grown so used to it in the brief amount of time that he had been here, sipping from coffee and turning back to the paper to read, then filling in more words. The sky had already darkened by the time he looked up and realized that his cup was empty.

"Here," said a voice, and that silver haired woman sat across of him, placing down a cup of coffee that she had purchased for him. She was holding a bottle of cheap melon soda, twisting open the cap and taking a sip. She flashed him a smile. "You seem like a black coffee kind of guy."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Why are you sitting here?"

"We're booth buddies," she teased, giggling. "We share all tables, everywhere, all around the world. Plus, you're the one following me, so I mean, it's only polite I come sit here with my stalker."

"Don't flatter yourself," Kaiba said immediately. "I can assure you that I am not following you. I actually needed to _escape _you, which is why I came here. Unfortunately, you sing here, so that was a useless effort."

The woman smiled. "Did you like it?"

"It was horrid," he lied automatically, keeping his expression neutral.

She laughed as though knowing he was merely fibbing and took another sip from her soda. "Soprano," she told him, pointing to a slot on the crossword he had been doing. "Fits in with 'paleography'."

"I didn't ask for your help," Kaiba snapped, but scribbled in the word anyway.

"Some of my songs are in English, so I can speak the language a little," she told him, indeed, speaking in English.

"Good for you," Kaiba replied in English as well. He noticed that she had an odd accent in her English – it was a mix between an Australian accent and a Japanese accent. Just who exactly was she?

"I can speak Korean, too," she said in the respective language.

"Korean is easy," Kaiba replied, writing down another word in his puzzle without even looking up. He continued in Korean, "if you know Japanese, Korean is a free language. It's the same grammar pattern, just different vocabulary."

"What about Chinese?" the woman said, grinning.

"I'm a businessman; it's a staple to know Chinese," Kaiba replied in the language, looking at the next clue on the puzzle. The woman's tinkling laughter rang in his ears and his turned his eyes up. He reverted back to Japanese. "What is it?"

"Oh, no, nothing," she said, waving him off. "I just think you're pretty cool."

Kaiba scoffed, shaking his head and deciding to ignore that compliment. Wait, it _was _a compliment, right? Dammit, why was he letting this anonymous woman get in his head? "And you're rather annoying."

She just grinned. "Impervious."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me?"

She pointed a finger at the last word on the crossword with a smile. "'Impervious'." She turned her electric blue eyes up all-knowingly. "Did you fix that glitch?"

What? How did she know that Kaiba had been working on a glitch for work? Was she a spy from another company, is that why she was bugging Kaiba? "I don't know what you're talking about."

She giggled cutely. "Oh, come on. I'm not an idiot. How about I make you a deal?"

"Not interested."

"Tomorrow, at lunch, I'll fix your program," she said with a smile. "But if I can't figure it out then I won't ever come back to Tsuki's again."

"And if by some miracle, you can?" Kaiba responded, raising an eyebrow. Just what she was she playing? She knew that Kaiba definitely wanted her to never bother him ever again so why did she seem to have so much faith that she could stay?

"Then I get an interview at Kaiba Corp."

"That's it? That's your big deal? You want an _interview _at my company? If you do fix my program, what makes you think that I'll just give you the interview with no actual intention of hiring you? And even if I do, for some insane reason, decide to give you a job, what makes you think I won't just give you a low paying one and then fire you?" Kaiba asked, glaring at her through blue eyes. How dare she assume that some random civilian could modify _his_ program? Asking for an interview at Kaiba Corporations meant that she knew exactly who he was and whom she was dealing with.

The woman smiled sweetly. "Because I know you'll hire me as your lead programmer."

Kaiba hardened his stare. "You're arrogant."

"So are you."

"I have a right to be."

"Me, too," she replied with a little smile. Her phone began to ring and she pulled it from her bag, eyes falling to the caller ID. She pressed a button to silence it, but it continued to vibrate in her hand. "It's my _Nii-sama_. I have to go now, so I'll see you tomorrow, booth buddy. Bring your laptop and prepare to be impressed!" Her playful demeanor was back as she stood up, capping her melon soda.

Kaiba grunted a response as she slipped past him with an actual skip in her step. He didn't bother to watch what car she got into or where she was headed. Tomorrow was going to be interesting indeed.

* * *

><p>"Are Tuesdays at three okay?" Mokuba said into his phone. He had called up the teacher's assistant for his computer programming class. "I have lunch with friends and then I'm free for the rest of the day."<p>

"Okay, that's fine," she replied, and Mokuba could almost see the little smile on her face. "I actually have lunch and around three would be perfect. Do you want to do Thursdays as well?"

"Oh, no, I definitely don't want to take up too much of your time, _senpai_," Mokuba said hurriedly, but the woman laughed.

"Please, it's totally fine. I'm free Thursdays at the same time. We can move ahead of the class so you won't be struggling, and you'll get a little more knowledge under your belt. We can head to the library or something."

"Actually, my brother works like, everyday, so our house is free in the afternoon for a couple hours, if you're okay with that," the raven-haired boy said into the mouthpiece. He knew that Kaiba would have a fit if he found out Mokuba was bringing home a girl. Mokuba tried to shake the thoughts from his head. She was beautiful, but she was way older than him and just a tutor.

"Okay," the woman agreed. "I have lunch at Tsuki's so if anything we can meet up there around two thirty and head to your place to start by three."

"That sounds great. Thanks so much, _senpai_."

"No problem, Mokuba-_san_. Have a lovely day," she said, and Mokuba couldn't help but smile. "_Jaa mata_."

"_Jaa_," he said, shutting the phone. He should probably tell Kaiba that he got a tutor, but then Kaiba would want to meet the tutor and Mokuba wasn't sure he was ready to have a talk about girls with his brother, no matter how close they were. He would just wait for his elder brother to ask and casually bring it up.

"Who was that?" Yugi asked, referring to the phone conversation.

"Oh, my TA from my computer programming class," Mokuba said, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Oy, oy, oy, no need to lie to us, Mokuba," Jou teased, slapping the younger boy on the back. "If it's a girl, you can just tell us, ya know."

"It is a girl, but she's just going to be my tutor."

"_Tutor_," Jou teased, nudging Mokuba again. "Wonder what she's gonna _teach_ ya!"

"Oh, stop being so dirty, Jou," Anzu scolded, rolling her eyes. "What's her name, Mokuba? Maybe we know her and she can come study with all of us."

"I actually don't know her name," Mokuba answered honestly. "Or, at least, I don't think I do."

Jou scratched his head, making a face. "You don't know your TA's name?"

The younger boy shook his head. "She never said it."

"You coulda asked," Jou suggested. "Since she's going to be your _tutor_."

"Don't corrupt little Mokuba with your dirty way of thinking," Anzu said with a sigh. "You could bring her around anyway, I mean, I'm sure she's nice if she offered to tutor you and she doesn't even know you."

"I think she does know me," Mokuba replied, remember how she had called him by name. He knew for a fact that he never once mentioned his name at all – first or last name. "I don't really know how," he added before his friends asked. "Maybe I'll ask her."

"Yeah, we'd love to meet your TA," Anzu encouraged. "It'd be nice to make new friends and you're probably going to be with her a lot, right?"

"I think so," Mokuba said with a shrug.

"So definitely bring her around. Ask her when she's free to just hang out and she can come to lunch with us or something," Yugi added.

"Oh, that sounds good," Mokuba said, grinning. "I'll ask her next Tuesday."

* * *

><p>"What's up?" greeted a familiar voice as the silver haired woman slid into the seat across Kaiba. She tucked her phone in her bag and folded her hands on the table.<p>

Kaiba immediately shifted his laptop across the table, raising his eyebrows. She looked a little startled by his sudden movement. "Go ahead. Impress me."

She ignored him and called out to a waiter. "A melon soda and _edamame_, please," she told him.

"Anything for you, Kaiba-_sama_?" the waiter asked, knowing exactly who he was speaking to, and making sure to ask extremely politely.

"No," Kaiba answered, sending him away. He turned back to the silver haired girl. "Well?"

She pulled out a slim book from her bag that looked like a notebook one could purchase at a department store. She flipped it open and Kaiba could vaguely see her little handwriting on every single line, but he couldn't read a thing she wrote. She also plucked a little USB drive shaped like a LEGO piece, and plugged it into the laptop.

"How did you even know that I was working on a program?" Kaiba asked her, mildly curious as she continued to flip through pages in her book, glancing up at the computer screen. Kaiba had already loaded up the codes for the upgrade he had been working on, deciding that if she did try to steal it, he would ensure that she would never, ever get a job anywhere in Japan.

"It was obvious," she said simply, shrugging. "You weren't typing a lot, but when you would, it was in short bursts, and then you'd delete it after. You'd glance down at the book you were reading, which I assume was a programming book, and type a little, click something, and when it wouldn't run, you'd look pretty pissed off, so it was all amusing for me." She flashed him a bright smile as her bowl of soybeans and melon soda came by.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "You're pretty observant for a woman that reads mystery novels and spends her time social networking instead of job hunting." He said, knowing that she wasn't searching the classifieds online, rather, chatting with people on websites and instant messaging.

She grinned. "I'm obvious, too, hm?" She popped a soybean into her mouth, squeezing out the beans. She tossed the empty shell into a bowl, chewing slowly. She pointed to the screen. "Is this an upgrade to something at Kaiba Land?"

"The Blue-Eyes Arcade," Kaiba told her, pulling out a second laptop. He might as well get something done while the idiot across of him was trying to fix a program he had been working on for months. If he couldn't do it, neither could she, and then she would finally leave him alone.

She smiled gently. "That's nice, it looks pretty fun," she said, scrolling through the programs. "You should make this an actual handheld game. New chess-like battle system? Please, count me in."

She could tell what kind of game it was just by scrolling through the program coding for five minutes? "You can play it at Kaiba Land once I finish the game."

"I've never been to Kaiba Land," she told him, typing something into the computer and glancing down at her notes again. "Weird, I know, since there's one like, everywhere. I really want to go 'cause it looks so awesome, but I don't have the money and it'd be kind of lame to go alone."

"Don't you have a brother?" Kaiba asked, not sure why he was engaging in conversation.

"Yeah, but _Nii-sama_ is too old to go to a theme park. Or at least that's what he says, which is, you know, ridiculous, because who's too old for rollercoasters?" she said, laughing a little. "Anyway, I think I can finish this today. Jut give me a couple of hours, it doesn't look too bad. I have to rewrite the loops and fix some of the mounts, but it'll be okay."

Kaiba couldn't tell if she was bluffing or not, but decided to let her fiddle with whatever she liked. He had the back up on his laptop anyway, in case she messed up – which was sure that she would –she wouldn't ruin all his hard work. Regardless, the woman sat quietly, glancing down at her notes and back up at the computer, typing things and scrolling, occasionally popping a soy bean between her thin lips. Kaiba swore that if she were instant messaging he would probably punch her face.

Kaiba decided to work on reviewing the profits from last month and ordering new products for shipment. He balanced out the company funds and checked lists of names of people and their productivity rate based on what they were submitting. He was actually a little thankful that he didn't need to fire anyone for this month.

The silver haired girl was quiet for a long time, until sipping the last of her melon soda, slamming it down in triumph, and Kaiba looked up from his computer to see her smiling brightly. "I'm done!"

Impossible.

"Show me," Kaiba challenged, and she turned the computer around.

"I used my own mounting program to simulate it," she explained, pointing to the program running now. "It's made to vector out the holograms and show them in grid form as how it'd be shown in your arcade." Kaiba did indeed watch as she moved the mouse, rotating the screen to show his new line-up for the game. "And we press start," she said, clicking enter. Kaiba's logo popped up on the screen and spun off to a start screen, where she pressed enter again. The screen displayed everything just as he imagined when he had first written the program. She actually began to play the game, moving her soldiers forward against a computer that he had written the program for.

What the _fuck_?

All of this in a little over three hours? How was what even possible? She smiled brightly, pausing the game. "Ta-da!" she announced happily. "Are you impressed?"

Kaiba kept his face expressionless. This woman was nothing short of a computer genius – even more than himself! How was she able to create a mount to run his own game on his own computer in the first place? That must have taken her years to develop by herself. And how did she fix the glitch so quickly? "Why do you want to work at Kaiba Corporations?"

She blinked several times, confused. "Huh?"

"I'm giving you your interview," Kaiba growled, irritated.

The woman caught on, flashing him a smile. "You _are_ impressed! I'm so happy," she squealed, clapping her hands together.

"Answer the question, or consider the interview done and your sorry ass still jobless," Kaiba snapped. He was not a man to break his word and she did fix his program, so he did owe her an interview. He hated owing people.

"Okay," she said, sitting back in her seat. "I want to work for Kaiba Corp because I believe that everything the company has done has been innovative and, to put it simply, amazing. I'm super into tech stuff, if you don't already know and I'd be honored to put my skills to use as your lead programmer."

"I never said anything about you being my lead programmer," Kaiba snapped at once.

She smiled, placing her shin in her palm. "But you're thinking about it, aren't you? I know I'm a good programmer. I know I can help you out a lot."

"Why are you doing this?" Kaiba was becoming more annoyed by the second. It wasn't just because some random woman spent three hours on something he had spent all month trying to fix and succeeded. It wasn't just because she knew that she was good, because honestly, if Kaiba had her skill level of programming, he would be, too. It was because…she felt familiar. Like he should already know her. It was because here she was, sitting in front of him like _she _knew _him_.

"Doing what?" she asked.

"What do you want?" he demanded in response.

She blinked again, puzzled as to why Kaiba was getting so roused up. "I need a job," she told him. "Programming is what I do best and I don't want to waste it on some small company. If I'm going to put my skills to use, it's going to be at Kaiba Corp. Now are you going to hire me or not?" She tried furrowing her brows in order to look upset, but was failing at it. Kaiba figured she didn't seem like the type to look mad unless she was actually experiencing the emotion.

"Fine. You want to be lead programmer? It's done. You're lucky that up until now, I occupied that position as well, so there's no need to fire anyone else," Kaiba snapped. "However, if I have to fire _you_ for not living up to your big words, then I'll make _sure _that no computer or gaming company in Japan will hire you for as long as you live."

"Sure," she said, shrugging as though this wasn't a big deal.

"Start tomorrow," Kaiba said, taking back his laptop and shoving it back in his briefcase.

"I can't tomorrow," she said, gathering her things and following him out. She didn't forget to drop a few bills for her soybeans and soda before tailing him. "I have school on Tuesdays and Thursdays – I'm busy."

"Fine, you will work every other day, then. Eight hour shift, nine to five," he responded, not looking down at her as he made his way to his car.

"Okay," she agreed automatically. She pulled something out of her bag and nudged him with it, forcing him to acknowledge her presence as he clicked the 'unlock' button on his car keys. "Take this and try it out. I've been working on it for about four years and I was actually going to pitch this to you when I start, but I can't tomorrow. I'd hate to have you forget me. You can play with this, but I want it back later."

Kaiba looked down to see a computer pad with a single button on it. He snatched it away from her. "Fine."

"Great!" she said, grinning as he opened the car door. "See you on Monday."

"Unfortunately," he mumbled, sliding into the car and slamming the door behind him. He didn't bother making sure she got to her car safely or anything of the sort before lurching out of the parking structure, his tires screeching behind him.

And then a thought occurred to him. He had just hired a new lead programmer – that annoying woman that sat across him every Godforsaken day – but he still didn't know her name.


	3. Chapter 3: First Day

Kaiba was normally in his office early, and today was no different. He was already getting to work, fingers clacking away at the keyboard, as he occasionally shifted his eyes to the clock. He wondered if that insanely annoying woman would actually show up today. She had shown up to Tsuki's yesterday after class for her usual soybeans and soda combination, but left early, saying she had other things to do. Kaiba had inquired about the device she had left, as he was unable to turn it on the night she gave it to him, and she answered by pressing her palm into the screen before sweeping out of the restaurant. The device lit up, leaving Kaiba to explore it that night.

They were definitely going to have a serious conversation about this today.

"Kaiba-_sama_, there is a woman downstairs requesting to see you," said a voice over the intercom. It was Isono. "Shall I tell her to leave?"

There was no doubt that this was that programmer he hired. "No, send her up."

"Oh, uh, yes, sir," Isono responded, sounding a little surprised. It's not that Kaiba didn't blame him – he always sent away women that tried to contact him at work. Women required time and energy and that was something that Kaiba didn't have to give. Why didn't they just understand that?

An eternity and a half later, the doors were thrown open quite dramatically as the silver haired woman strutted in. Kaiba looked up from his computer to see that she was dressed in a black blazer over a frilly white blouse and pencil skirt. Her silver hair was whirled in a bun and black-rimmed glasses were perched on her nose. She was even carrying a briefcase. Her overzealous attitude to try and look professional – she had even struck a pose with her hands on her hips, her face contorted with determination – combined with her hair swept out of her face, she actually looked kind of…cute.

"You look ridiculous," Kaiba told her, moving his eyes back to his computer.

Her tinkling laughter filled the air as her heels clicked closer to him. "Well, so do you."

"If you're going to make a comeback, at least say something that's true," he said, flicking his blue eyes up at her, only to see her smiling. "I'm surprised you're on time."

"Aw, it's the first day of work, of course I'd come on time!" she said, laughing. "I'm glad you have faith in me."

"We'll see how long that lasts," Kaiba said, pushing his chair back and standing up. He picked his briefcase from the floor as he moved past her towards the door, but the woman only followed with her eyes. "Hurry up, we have a meeting to get to."

"Ooh, I get to go to a meeting?" she asked, leaving her briefcase on his desk and making her way towards the door.

Kaiba furrowed his brows. "You should bring your briefcase."

She shrugged and giggled. "There's nothing in there."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, leaving the room. Impossible. She was _impossible_. How was it that a woman of her aptitude was able to correct the glitch on a program written by Kaiba Seto? It had taken her all of three hours to fix something he had been trying to repair for a little under a month. It was, to put it simply, _annoying_.

"This place is really big," she said, seeming to admire the hallway. Kaiba didn't think there was anything special about the gray walls but obviously she was easily amused. "I'd have gotten lost if Isono-_san _didn't tell me where your office was."

Kaiba didn't respond, just kept walking. Why was she talking to him? They were at work now, not in the restaurant or in a café – they weren't friends. She didn't need to make friendly conversation. Their relationship now was strictly that of a boss and employee, the only relationship that Kaiba ever really understood. It was simple; he, as the boss, was in power, and employees, as little worker bees, listened to everything he said, no questions asked.

"Did you like my mini-computer?" she asked, hurrying forward to flank him as though waiting to see his physical reaction. "Well, I guess it's sort of a computer. More for games though. I wrote everything myself and built it, too, so right now, it's the only one in the world."

That explained why her laptop she used looked so high-tech. She built it herself. That still didn't explain her designer bag and golden cuffs contradicting her lack of high-end clothing and her duct tape wallet. Even looking at her suit, Kaiba could tell that it was not something she had bought at a custom tailor.

But again, he didn't speak, choosing to keep his eyes in front of her. But it didn't break her spirits, as she seemed to be ignoring the fact that he was ignoring her, and just walked beside him. They approached a room at the end of the hall and he pushed open the door, and stepped through, not bothering to hold it open for the woman behind him.

Placed around a large table were several businessmen, who were chit chatting about other things. They silenced at once when Kaiba stepped into the room, and he strode to the head of the table, placing himself in a chair. The silver haired woman followed him, and sat in a chair on his right side, folding her hands onto the table with a polite smile at the older gentleman across her. He looked a little confused as to why Kaiba Seto would bring someone into the conference room, let alone a _woman_.

"What was such an important issue that we all had to be here by Friday?" asked a man sitting near the head of the table, to the right of the silver haired woman. Kaiba glowered at him.

"If you could silence yourself for one moment, Tanaka, I was just about to start the meeting and explain why I called you all here," he snapped. He lifted his briefcase and pulled out the device he received the other day, placing it on the table. He pressed his hand in the center, the computer lighting up and displaying a holographic 3D desktop. "This is going to be our new project starting today. I will be asking all of your departments to analyze and upgrade all of the aspects to this computer. The shape, the size, the technology, everything. Mass produce it."

The men around the room all seemed a little confused. Kaiba was about to explain, when the woman to his right interrupted him. "I don't remember giving you permission to make _my _computer," she said, furrowing her brows together a little. She seemed to not really understand what was going on.

"Excuse me?" Kaiba growled.

"I gave that to you to play with as a thanks for hiring me," she continued. "But I do want it back. It's the only one in the world."

"We're going to mass produce it. The technology is phenomenal and I want to sell it," he said, biting off every word. Why was he explaining himself to this woman? _He _was the boss, not the other way around.

"But you didn't even ask," she persisted, sounding mildly annoyed.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. What was he now, a fucking five year old? The other department heads from his other branches seemed a little amused and that was annoying. Definitely not as annoying as the woman sitting next to him, though. Kaiba stood up abruptly, yanking the woman's wrist. "Excuse us," he snarled, dragging her from the room. He slammed the door behind him and glared, looking down at her. "What the _fuck _are you doing?"

"What? What am _I _doing? It's the other way around," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's my little game computer."

"And I want to make it our next project. Shouldn't you be grateful?" Kaiba asked, unfazed by her poor attempt to try and be angry. She obviously wasn't that mad. Hell, anyone would be excited if Kaiba Corporations was making their invention the newest company project.

"Yeah, that is great, but you didn't even ask," she repeated.

"Do I really need to ask _my own fucking programmer _whether or not I want to make her gaming device a project for _my _company?" Kaiba snapped.

"Yes, I think you do. It is _my _computer."

"I am five seconds away from firing your stupid ass."

"Well, then you won't get the computer," she replied as a matter-of-fact. "All you have to do is just _ask _me."

Kaiba clenched his jaw so tightly he thought he might break his teeth. "We're making the computer."

"If it's without my permission, I can sue you."

"You don't think we have lawyers? I doubt you have a patent or any kind of legal evidence you can drag along with you to court. I'll have you fired in two seconds, you'll never work anywhere in Japan again, and I still get your computer," Kaiba snapped.

"Fine," she said, exhaling. "You don't need to ask. Another deal, then, since you're such a fine businessman."

"I'm not making any more deals with the likes of you," he responded immediately.

She, of course, ignored him. "You can have my computer and I'll be the head of the project. I'll make sure that everything goes well and if you give me enough time, then I can even make an upgrade for you, and you don't need to pay me for that. I can still take the salary of the lead programmer," she reasoned, before he could leave.

That actually sounded like a decent proposal. She would do all the work while Kaiba just oversaw everything, and he wouldn't have to pay her a single yen. And he could fire her anytime he wanted. "What's the catch?"

"You come to my shows," she said with a smile.

"Excuse me?" Kaiba growled.

"Did you forget already? Wednesdays I sing at the café for like, an hour or so. You just come with me every Wednesday night after Tsuki's and sit and have coffee, and do the crossword, whatever. And you can have my design and all my help," she said.

"Absolutely not."

"Fine, then we can stand out here while all your business savvy friends think we're having a lover's quarrel and have their opinions on your change because _the _Kaiba Seto is being bossed around by a _girl_," she said, raising both her eyebrows. "Because I'm not going to back down and I _will _embarrass you in front of those people if you either don't ask, or don't take my deal."

"Fine, we have a deal," Kaiba told her, and knocked the doors back open again. A little surprised, the silver haired woman followed him in, feeling a little accomplished. She returned to her seat at Kaiba's right as he took his own, already tired from the day, and it'd only been about half an hour into the start of that wretched woman's workday. "My apologies. My new programmer has some issues about her work being used but everything has been cleared up."

"New programmer?" questioned one of the men.

"Yes, she will be taking over as lead at this headquarters and will be overseeing the project until its end. This is her creation and she will be taking care of everything. Isn't that right?" he asked snidely, turning his head towards the silver haired woman.

"Right," she answered with a polite smile. "It's very nice to meet you all and I am hoping to get to work with you all soon."

They all seemed taken aback by her sudden sweetness and wondered what in the world Kaiba Seto was doing hiring such an innocent looking woman as his programmer. It also made them doubt the authenticity of the device before them. The desktop was still displayed, none of the old, hardened men brave enough to touch any of the holograms in case Kaiba was feeling nasty and just fired them on a whim.

The woman reached out, sliding her device in front of her. She flipped through the options on the little desktop and selected one, and then proceeded into counting the number of men at the table. She typed in that number, and then turned to her right. "Can you place this in the middle of the table, please?" she asked.

The men looked puzzled, but they obliged, passing over the computer to the center of the table. "What are you doing?" Kaiba asked, his voice low as he leaned over to speak to her.

"I've noticed that you've all seemed a little skeptical," she said, ignoring Kaiba. "So I wanted to show a demonstration that I'm sure will cause you fine gentlemen to back my project and not cause Kaiba-_shachou _any problems. Now gentlemen, how about a game?"

* * *

><p>"I did good, didn't I?" the silver haired woman said quietly to Kaiba as all the businessmen left the conference room in chuckles and smiles. Hardened old men, leaving a business meeting with Kaiba Seto <em>smiling<em>.

Kaiba crossed his arms over his chest as he and his new programmer watched the men leave. After a test run, they had all backed up the new project without any questions and would even send over their best programmers to the headquarters to work under her. It was unanimous; they agreed that the project would be at the top of their priorities.

Normally, Kaiba could be a little murderous when it came to proposing a new project. Those men were so used to the kind of company that Kaiba Corporations used to be – the military company – even if that was over ten years ago, that they were still trying to slow down his progress as a gaming corporation as much as possible and he would be pulling out hairs trying to get them to cooperate. But one little test run from his new programmer's new invention and they were sold. She had, indeed, done well.

"You're annoying," he told her, standing up. She stood up also, scooping up her new project as she passed, tailing Kaiba as he left the room.

The new invention she had made was a portable gaming system. From a slim pad with the same thickness of a stack of twenty sheets of paper, she was able to create the same holographic quality as one of Kaiba Corp's duel disks. The desktop had a series of games to choose from, a few of which the user could download off the net for a price – or, at least that was the plan. It was a mixture of holograms and virtual reality; the player's mind was fooled into thinking that he or she could actually feel the surroundings created by the device, such as the loud, chill room of a gambling casino during a game of poker, or the hot sunlight overhead during a friendly match of fencing. It was an advancement of the Solid Vision technology Kaiba had invented.

It was, without a doubt, completely amazing.

And right now, it was the only one in the world. However, that was not going to last very long. Kaiba was determined to make this the next big thing and it would bring in his company billions. After the release, there wasn't a kid that wouldn't own a—well, he'd think of a name later, probably after discussing it with her.

Wait, _what_? Kaiba _owned _that woman's little device, he could name it whatever the hell he wanted. He didn't need her permission.

"I could have done without the unnecessary bickering in the middle of my meeting," Kaiba warned. "Don't let it happen again. If you wish to speak in private, then say so, and we'll leave the room. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," she responded with a smile. She really was impervious, wasn't she? She wasn't like most people that shriveled under his gaze, or crumpled from his cold words. She was immune. "Where are we going now?" the woman asked, noticing that they weren't heading back to Kaiba's office.

"Your work room is one floor below this one," he said, pushing open the door to the stairs. "You will come and check in with me every single morning and then head downstairs to start working. If you have any questions, which I sincerely hope you do not, then I am upstairs. The other programmers are ready to meet you."

"Oh, that's nice," she said, sounding actually excited. "Does everyone have to check in with you in the morning?"

"No," Kaiba answered, like this was supposed to be obvious. "I obviously don't have the time to see ten thousand people when they come in. It's only you so I can make sure that you're coming in on time and getting to work right away. You are also required to check out with me before you leave."

"Except on Wednesdays," she said with a smile. "We'll leave together. I end at five, right? I start singing at six thirty-ish, so we have time to grab some coffee and hang out."

"We will do no such thing," Kaiba snapped. "Our deal was the one hour of your set so I will absolutely not be leaving the building with you. I'll meet you there at six thirty and I _will _leave at seven thirty. I don't have time to socialize."

"Sure you do," she said, quietly her voice a little. "You just don't make time."

"Stop being ridiculous," he said, not looking down at her. The floor beneath his was just a hallway. However, in the center of the room were glass windows that contained the programming department. Inside the glass box in the center of the floor were desks, and computers – it was a regular office, except in a glass box.

He pushed open the door and she followed him in again, all work ceasing. It seemed like a busy place, with stacks of paper all around, and computer parts splayed out across the desks next to a few days' worth of empty coffee cups.

"This is your new lead," Kaiba said, being careful not to put himself in a position where he had to say her name. He looked down at her. "This is your department."

She bowed low. "It's very nice to meet all of you. _Douzoyoroshiku_," she said very politely, and Kaiba saw the programmers exchange glances. They seemed surprised that their new lead was so sweet. Honestly, Kaiba was astonished at the same thing. For someone of such a high intellect, she was much more humble than he would have expected.

"Get to work," he told her.

She pulled herself up with a smile and a nod. "Which is my desk?" she asked, glancing around.

"Any one, _kachou_," said one of the programmers. Kaiba happened to recognize him as the interim head of the department. Of course, until a few days ago, that had been Kaiba himself, but if he ever had to blame something on the programming department, it would be that person, Sato Izumi. He was one of the younger programmers, probably only a few years older than Kaiba himself, but he was very kind and lenient on his workers, which caused problems for Kaiba sometimes. Regardless, Kaiba never fired him. Sato was too good a programmer.

"Oh, no, please don't call me that," the woman said, holding her hands and waving them. Kaiba turned on his heels before he was about to leave, but Sato spoke up again, smiling warmly at her.

"What's your name then?"

Kaiba paused for that, glancing back ever so slightly as the silver haired woman smiled. "Kisara."


	4. Chapter 4: Challenge Accepted

Kaiba couldn't stop thinking about it.

Kisara. He had heard that name hundreds of times before, but that had all been a dream, hadn't it? He had been swept into some crazy nightmare of Egyptian Pharaohs and three thousand year old battles in stone tablets – that had been a dream, right?

Of course it was, he reasoned. There was no possible way that any of that could have been true. And even if it was, so _what _if there was some kid thousands of years ago that looked like him? That didn't matter because Kaiba was here today and now, and none of that even mattered.

But when that woman had finally said her name, it was all that mattered. She even _looked _like that girl from three thousand years ago, the one who died for the priest. That was where he knew her. He knew her from a dream.

No. _No_. Kaiba forced himself to stop thinking like this. Seto Kaiba didn't believe in fairy tales and fate. There were such thing as dopplegangers, and perhaps that woman – Kisara – was just that. Just a look-alike. He forced himself to believe that.

Kaiba also thought that maybe Kisara had work to do now that she was employed and going to school as well, but every damned day, that woman came and invaded Kaiba's personal space, even when she was working. She would come here for lunch for an hour or so with him and then walk back to Kaiba Corp alone. Kaiba knew he could have just easily gotten another booth, but he was to used to routine that sitting somewhere else would honestly throw him off.

"Melon soda and _edamame_ for me," she told the waiter, who Kaiba was pretty sure didn't even need to come by and ask by now, considering that she was here every Godforsaken day. She turned to Kaiba. "Do you want anything? My treat."

And, as usual, he would answer with a stern, "No," and look back down at his computer as Kisara sent him off. The rest of the afternoon was routine. Kaiba wasn't even looked for if he overstayed his lunch and one hour was too short to do much work, so he spent his afternoon at Tsuki's, running numbers, checking sales.

He looked up as she began to pack her things and flicked his eyes to the clock on his computer screen. Today was Tuesday; she didn't have work today, but ended school around twelve, which was why she came at twelve thirty with her programming books. Her soybean tray was empty and her melon soda gone as she shuffled her books and began to scoot out of the bar.

"Where are you going?" Kaiba snapped before he could stop himself. Why the hell did he care where she was going today? He should just be happy that she was leaving him the hell alone?

"I'm flattered that you want to hang out, but I have stuff to do today," she said teasingly, causing Kaiba to roll his eyes in annoyance. It seemed like she didn't plan on answering the question. "I'll see you tomorrow at work, though, Kaiba-_shachou_. Have a lovely day."

He grunted a response and turned back to his work, wondering why the table suddenly felt so empty.

* * *

><p>"Good morning," Kisara greeted as she pushed open the doors to Kaiba's office. Kaiba looked up from his computer to see her dressed in a beige strapless dress with a gold belt around her waist. She was, of course, wearing her gold cuffs and had added a gold necklace. This morning, she had left her hair down.<p>

"What the hell are you wearing?" Kaiba demanded.

Kisara looked down at herself, seeming a little confused. "A dress."

"What happened to the suits?" Kaiba asked. He noticed that she had been alternating between a deep blue one and a black one, as though he _wouldn't _notice that she probably didn't have anything else. Of course, he was right.

"They're in the wash," she told him, hooking some of her silver hair behind her ear.

"You can't work in that," Kaiba told her. "Go home and change."

Kisara blinked several times. "I just said I have nothing else to wear."

"A jacket? Nothing?" Kaiba asked, sighing heavily. She was impossible. _Impossible_!

She shook her head. "Nope. I had to get rid of a lot of my clothes when I moved back from Los Angeles," she told him.

"Again, I didn't ask for your life story," Kaiba snapped, pushing back his chair as he stood up.

"And I wasn't telling it," she replied. "I kind of have to stay today, they're discussing what else they want to put on the Mini-K."

"The _what_?" Kaiba snapped.

"Mini-K," she repeated with a bright smile. "I named my little game computer Mini-Kisara, so it's the Mini-K."

"That is a ridiculous name. I will not allow it," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, we already decided," Kisara said, crossing her arms, too.

Kaiba took in a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. He didn't want to argue so early in the morning. "We'll discuss this later," he said, and in one swift motion, shrugged off his suit jacket and threw it over her head. Kisara stood there for a moment, pretty much swimming in his blazer. "The programming department has the air conditioner on at a brisk 12 degrees Celsius so the computers don't overheat. If you're cold in there, you won't get work done. Don't wear clothes like that here ever again."

She gathered it in her arms, straightened it out, and put it over herself. Because of their height difference and her petite build, the jacket was much too big for her, the sleeves nearly falling to her knees. She tried to roll them up, but the sleeves kept getting in the way of her progress. Kaiba looked up from his computer again to see her fidgeting and nearly ripped the computer out from his desk and flung it into the wall.

He stood up again, and sharply rolled up both of the sleeves to his blazer, as she seemed like she couldn't even do such a simple task. He scowled at her as she smiled brightly up at him, offering a thanks. "And buy a headband or something. How you can see through that thicket of hair is completely beyond me."

"Okay, I'll try to remember," she said. "Thanks for the coat, Kaiba-_shachou_. See you for lunch!"

"Unfortunately," he mumbled as she gathered her briefcase and left the room. He sighed, shaking his head. He wondered if it was a mistake hiring someone like her for such an important position.

But he hated to admit that she was actually a good worker despite her rather innocent and helpless demeanor. She always came at least ten minutes early to check in with him in the morning, giving him enough time to say what he needed to say before she started, as well as allotting enough time for her to walk downstairs and be started on work by nine. And Kaiba also noticed that she was never up here announcing her leave until at least five minutes after five, which meant that she ended her work at five and no later. It wasn't like she was harsh either; the programming department seemed to have taken a quick liking to her and they were all eager to work for her, which made the progress of her new device move along smoothly. He predicted that within a year, he would be able to push out her invention onto the shelves.

She was much better than he expected. But it wasn't like he could tell her that; he wasn't that kind of person to _praise _others. Sure, she was good, but she could be better, and that's all that Kaiba wanted to focus on. If he praised her and she got used to it, then she would expect it. And Kaiba couldn't have that; everyone already expected so much from him, he would absolutely not have Kisara expect anything from him either.

The sharp blare of his office phone snapped Kaiba from his thoughts and he picked it up without checking the caller ID. "_Moshi moshi_," he said into the microphone as the on-screen video came up.

"_Nii-sama_," Mokuba greeted with a smile. It had only been an hour since school started, what could he possibly want? "I'm sorry it's so last minute, but there's a concert tonight, and Yugi guys invited me to go. Is that cool?"

"I still don't understand why you gotta ask that old fart for permission to do things," Kaiba heard Jonouchi Katsuya say in the background. "You're eighteen already, Mokuba, you don't need to check in with the all-mighty _'Nii-sama'_," he said, saying the last word with sarcasm.

"That _zako _is actually correct, Mokuba. You are old enough to do whatever you please. However, I appreciate you checking in with me before you spend time with dirty dogs incase you contract some disease from _make-inu _like Jonouchi," Kaiba said, leaning back in his chair.

"Oy, oy, what'd you say, Kaiba?" Jou snapped, suddenly appearing right in front of the camera.

"Ah, it seems like you can talk all the shit you want when you're in the background, but as usual, Jonouchi, you are unable to speak in my presence," he said, unfazed. "I hate noisy dogs anyway."

"Why, you—" Jou growled, raising his fist.

"Point proven," Kaiba interrupted. He directed his attention to his younger brother. "Mokuba, you can go to whatever you want, as long as your schoolwork is finished. Have you hired a tutor yet?"

Mokuba nodded and smiled. "Yeah, we met yesterday. I got all my stuff done, so don't worry. I don't have a lot of work today, so I'll just finish it before I go. That should be okay, right?"

"Yes, that's fine," Kaiba replied. "Have fun tonight."

Mokuba seemed surprised by Kaiba's final request, but grinned widely anyway. "Alright, I will. Thanks, _Nii-sama_. Have a great day at work!"

"Thank you," Kaiba told his brother, and then shifted his eyes back to Jou. "Oh, and Jonouchi, make sure you get your shots before you accompany my brother tonight. If he gets rabies then I will have you put down like the dirty hound you are."

"Kaiba, you—" Jou started, but Kaiba already clicked off the monitor, cutting him off again. He sighed again, shaking his head. Katsuya Jonouchi. There was probably no one in this universe more annoying than him. Kaiba actually immensely hated when Mokuba hung out with Jounouchi, but it wasn't like he could say anything about it. If it was what made Mokuba happy, then Kaiba just had to go along with it. Mokuba wasn't twelve anymore; he could think for himself and make his own decisions, and if one of those decisions was to find friendship in Yugi and his gang of geeks, then so be it.

Kaiba had a lot of work to do today. There was a stack of papers on his desk that was comprised of…he didn't even know what they were but he knew that he needed to look at them and sign them and read them and make sure that they weren't stupid proposals by equally stupid workers.

He wondered when he had begun to start to hate work. When he was younger, he actually didn't mind all of these things; Kaiba Corp had become so powerful and he had become so rich and successful because of it. That was only five years ago, and today, he dreaded coming in everyday. He was thankful for the weekends, when he didn't have to sit at this desk and half-read things he didn't even care about anymore.

It was probably because back then, he had Duel Monsters. Back then, he had something else to occupy his time, but after graduation, he had cut down on playing the card game, until it was rare that he ever even played at all. The deck that he had worked so hard to compile was now just sitting unused. With the construction of his Duel Monsters Academy and other things he needed to take care of, it was understandable that he didn't have time to play games anymore.

But dammit, he ran a gaming company _for _Duel Monsters! Why _didn't _he have time to play anymore? It was infuriating at times, knowing that it was the same thing that made him rich and famous that also brought him the greatest disappointment. He had given up so much for this company. And for what? Money? Fame? Power? Kaiba…didn't care about those things anymore.

He slammed his fist on his desk, the booming sound hollow in his empty office. Why the hell was he thinking this way? Of _course _he cared about those things. Without money, fame, and power, he wouldn't be standing at the top of the world and that was the only thing he knew how to do. So, why he _fuck _was he beginning to doubt himself?

He shook the thoughts from his head, turning his blue eyes back to his computer. There was work to do.

"I-is that Kaiba-_shachou_'s jacket?" asked one of the programmers, Keiko. She pushed up her glasses, and pointed at the clothing over Kisara's dress.

Kisara shrugged, wondering if her motion was visible under the oversized coat. "Yeah. He didn't want me to work in this dress."

Keiko and Izumi exchanged glances. "He _gave _you his jacket?" Keiko clarified, as though this were her real question.

Kisara nodded, seeming a little confused. "Yes."

"But _why_?" she asked, keeping her voice low as if there were hidden recorders taping her every word.

The silver haired woman laughed. "He said it was cold in here, and I couldn't just work in a dress." She looked up from her computer to see the two still looking confused. "What?"

"He _gave _you his coat. Like, he actually just _gave _it, like, 'Hey, Kisara, it's cold downstairs, so I volunteer the clothing off my back to keep you warm as you slave away in front of the blue light of a computer screen'?" Keiko asked, still in disbelief.

"Well, he didn't say it like that, but yeah, he gave it to me," Kisara said, laughing again. "Why, what's the big deal?"

Izumi chuckled. "Kaiba's never nice to anyone."

"Oh, come now, he's not as mean as everyone says," Kisara said, moving her eyes back to the computer. "I'm sure that underneath that tough exterior is just…someone like us."

"He fired Rin last month," Keiko told her. "Rin was a single mother of three that worked this job, _and _waited tables at night just to support her kids. This job was her main source of income, though, and Kaiba just…fired her."

Kisara frowned slightly. "I'm sure he had a reason."

Keiko scoffed. "Oh, come on. I mean, I know he's really handsome, and smart, and rich, and his bad-boy attitude is actually kind of hot—"

"Keiko," Izumi chuckled, snapping the woman out of her daydream.

"—but he's a cold-hearted tyrant, Kisara! Don't let yourself be dragged in! He may seem cool and suave but he's a snake! Be careful, okay? If he hurts you—"

"He won't," Kisara said quietly, a tiny smile curling on her lips. She turned to Keiko and Izumi, widening her smile. "He won't."

Keiko just hummed to herself as though not believing Kisara, but Izumi patted her back gently. "Well, we'll see how long that belief lasts," he said, and Kisara didn't hear any sarcasm in his voice. "You're a really talented person, Kisara. Kaiba could always be using you, you know. Just keep you guard up, okay?"

Kisara laughed, shaking her head. "Oh, jeez, all of this solemn talk from him just giving me a jacket? Don't worry, guys. Kaiba-_shachou _is human, too. I'm sure that deep down inside, he's just…really lonely. It's hard to run a company, and he's had to do it since he was so young. I'm sure he doesn't really have people to talk to to let out all that stress, so I can see why he can seem a little cold."

Keiko sighed and shook her head as though Kisara were a hopeless cause. "Well, you can think whatever you want, Kisara. I'm not the only one here that thinks that our boss is probably the biggest asshole on the planet. He works us until we're pretty much dead, you know. And because of this new project and all these strict deadlines, we might actually die this time."

"How about I ask him to hire more programmers?" Kisara asked, smiling. "So we won't have to be pulling long shifts and pulling our hair out. I'm sure he'll understand; he'll want a quality product, and tired programmers won't get it done, so I'll pitch the idea to him."

Keiko blinked several times. Who exactly did Kisara think that Seto Kaiba _was_? "You're going to…ask Seto Kaiba to _hire _more people?"

Kisara shrugged. "Yeah, sure. It'll make work for us a little easier as well."

Keiko laughed a little. "Okay, well, good luck with that."

"Thanks," she said with a smile, not at all hearing the sarcasm in Keiko's words. She turned her eyes back to the computer, trying to work on more code. Kaiba had asked her to try thinking of new games to add to the default device that would be on shelves, as well as think of more for the online store, and work on getting licensing from other games to be sold online as well and think of reasonable royalty pitches to other companies for the privilege to sell their games on Kaiba's online store for the upcoming release. Kisara honestly didn't know what a 'royalty' was until she had looked it up in the dictionary and didn't know where to go from there. But she didn't want to let Kaiba down, so she would do her best to get everything done on time.

"Kisara, you can go on lunch," Keiko told her upon coming back. The programmers all rotated lunch, and Kisara had asked for hers at twelve thirty. She glanced at the clock. Was it midday already?

She stood up, rolling her shoulder blades back. "Okay, cool. I'll see you guys when I come back."

"Have a good one," Keiko said with a wave.

Kisara left the office, adjusting Kaiba's coat, and making her way to the elevator that took her to the bottom floor. To her surprise, she saw Kaiba sitting on one of the chairs near the elevator, his briefcase at his feet. He was leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, his hands covering his eyes.

"Were you waiting for me?" she asked cheerfully, approaching him.

He lifted his head from his hands slowly, narrowing his eyes. "No," he told her. "I had a headache."

"Let's go get something to eat, then," Kisara suggested as Kaiba stood up. "You should eat this time. I'm sure food would help settle your headache."

"Yes, it will. However, eating with you will only make the headache worse," he said, but Kisara just laughed.

"Oh, ouch, my feelings were hurt," she teased. "Let's go. My treat."

Kaiba was just about to tell her a very stern no and then pray that she get the hint and leave him alone, when someone called her name. They both turned to see Izumi making his way over to her. "Kaiba-_shachou_," he greeted with a bow. He turned to Kisara and flashed her a charming smile. "Kisara, I'm glad I caught you before you left. I was wondering if you wanted to grab lunch. We have the same time slot today."

Kaiba didn't understand why he suddenly felt a pang of jealousy. He clenched his jaw tightly to force himself not to say anything. What did he care if Kisara go eat with someone else? He _wanted _her to leave, right?

"Maybe tomorrow," she said, offering an apologetic smile. "I already have a booth buddy today." Kaiba grunted in response at that annoying nickname, rolling his eyes before sweeping past her towards the door. He couldn't help but feel a little triumphant and cursed himself for it. He was just going a little nuts because he hadn't played Duel Monsters in a long time and work was being stressful. Yes, that was it. "See you when I get back," she called back to Izumi as she followed Kaiba from the lobby, leaving a very confused Izumi behind.

"You can go with him. I'm not stopping you," Kaiba snapped as he made his way to his car. Kisara hurried to catch up, needing to take two steps for every one of his.

Kisara shook her head. "I want to eat with you, though."

"You don't eat, you drink melon soda."

"And _eat_ soybeans."

"How is that even a meal?"

"At least I eat _something_."

Kaiba grunted another response and followed him to his car. He turned back to her, narrowing his eyes. "Where do you think you're going?" he growled, ignoring how cute she was in his oversized coat.

"To lunch," she said as though this were the answer to every question Kaiba would ever ask her.

"Don't you have your own car?"

"Nope."

"Go to the train station, then."

"I ride a motorcycle."

Kaiba scoffed. "As if an incompetent woman like you would be able to drive a motorcycle."

"I totally can."

"Drive that, then. Hopefully, you'll crash and I won't have to spend another torturous lunch with you."

Kisara laughed. "Aw, you don't mean that."

"I truly, _truly_ do."

"How about you drive this time, and I'll drive next time?" she said with a smile.

"Absolutely not."

"Okay, you can just drive forever."

"Go away."

"But I'm already here," she said, standing at the passenger side door of Kaiba's black Lexus. "We're going to the same place anyway."

"What if I'm not going to Tsuki's?"

Kisara smiled. "But you are."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Fine. I will drive this one time, but do not ever expect me to take you anywhere else for as long as you live. If you are going to Tsuki's for lunch, then you will get there by your own means. Do you understand?"

"I've gotten there myself all these other times, right?" Kisara said with a smile, pulling open the door as Kaiba reluctantly unlocked it, mumbling something about her getting there her own way today. She slid into the car, pulling the seatbelt over herself and glancing around. "This is a really nice car."

"It's a Lexus," Kaiba stated, the car purring to life beneath them. He shifted into reverse, leaving the parking lot. He kept his hand over the stick shift, his right hand on the top of the wheel. He shifted gears as he got into the main road, and if Kisara hadn't seen his hand move, she wouldn't even have been able to tell; he shifted so smoothly.

"It's so cool you can drive a standard car," she commented. Kaiba's eyes flickered at her for a moment.

"You have to drive standard for a motorcycle," Kaiba told her, shifting gears again. "It's nothing big."

"Yeah, but it's different in a car," Kisara insisted. "It's cool. Just accept the compliment."

"I don't need compliments from you."

Kisara just giggled, unfazed, and Kaiba sighed. She was impervious to his sarcasm, but it wasn't the annoying kind, like that Jonouchi Katsuya. In her own way, she challenged him, making him think of more ways to try to get her to leave, even though he knew that she never would.

He pulled into Tsuki's, killing the motor and sliding out of the car. He didn't bother coming around to open the door for her and she didn't expect him to, as she was behind him again, following him into Tsuki's.

"Good afternoon, Kaiba-_shachou_," greeted the hostess with a bow. She stood up, and looked outwardly surprised to see Kisara with him, wearing his jacket

Kisara held up two fingers. "For two in our usual booth please," she told the hostess, who looked at Kaiba for confirmation. 'Our' booth? There was no way that Seto Kaiba would be having company for lunch, right? But the CEO just kept his eyes in front of him, not bothering to correct Kisara.

"Oh, um, yes, sure, please go ahead," she said with a bow, and Kaiba swept off immediately to their normal booth, Kisara behind him as usual. She slid into her normal spot, slinging her bag off her shoulders, and smiling.

"What are you going to eat?" she asked, folding her hands over the table.

"I haven't seen a menu yet."

Kisara smiled. "I'm sure you know what you want to eat at Tsuki's," she said as though she knew. Damn, how did she seem to know everything? The waiter came by shortly, and Kisara ordered _edamame _and melon soda. She turned to Kaiba. "My treat," she reminded him.

"Alright then, since this woman will be taking care of the check, how about lobster dynamite rolls and your finest grade _maguro _sashimi, as well as the beef filet," Kaiba ordered, not glancing at the menu. Tsuki's may be a family restaurant, but Kaiba knew very well that they had delicious food as well.

"Eeeeeh?" Kisara breathed, looking incredulous. "I said I was going to treat, but I'm not rich, you know!"

"Don't offer to pay if you can't," Kaiba said, shrugging. He passed both menus to the waiter. "Oh, and bring by your most expensive champagne."

"Please don't bring the champagne," Kisara begged as the waiter passed her. She puffed out her cheeks at Kaiba. "If I'm paying, you better share!"

"I will be doing no such thing," Kaiba informed her, pulling out a newspaper from his bag. "Now if you could shut that enormous mouth of yours, I have to read."

Kisara sighed, placing her head down on the table. She hadn't even received her first paycheck from Kaiba Corporations, and her TA job and her singing gig at the café were barely enough to take care of her rent, gas, and food needs. She couldn't even afford work clothes, let alone expensive foods.

Kaiba glanced up at her for a moment, the girl's head flat on the table as she waited for the meal to come in the silence that Kaiba had requested. He forced his eyes to return to the paper and not feel sorry for her. Her soybeans and soda came, and she tilted her head to the side, still leaving it on the table as she slowly, pitifully nibbled at her soybeans.

"Will you stop moping?" Kaiba snapped. Even after his own food arrived, Kisara was still eating her little soybeans, her melon soda untouched. She was trying to concoct excuses to tell her landlord about why she would probably miss the next rent deadline.

"Oh, sorry," she said, sitting up as not to be rude. She took a sip from her melon soda, stirring it afterwards to mix around the flavor, as it has been diluted from the melted ice. Kaiba didn't understand why she was complaining about money when she obviously had enough; her designer bag and obnoxious gold cuffs gave that away. Maybe she was just a cheapskate.

They ate in silence, but Kisara was finished with her meal way before Kaiba was done. The waiter asked if she wanted anything else, but she declined politely, smiling. She worked an eight hour shift at Kaiba Corp, went to school and was a teacher's assistant, sang at a cafe, but she only ate soybeans for lunch? It wasn't like she needed to watch her weight or anything; why did she eat so scarcely?

Kaiba sighed, pushing his plate of lobster dynamite towards her. There were a few rolls left, along with the remainder of his serving of sashimi. "Eat before you shrivel up and die."

She seemed so genuinely surprised by his offer, that Kaiba had to turn his face away. "I thought…you didn't want to share?" she asked, cautious about the food as though wondering if it was a trap.

"Don't make me change my mind," he snapped, popping a sliced piece of beef filet into his mouth. "You're still paying."

Kaiba didn't even need to look at Kisara to know that she was smiling brightly. "Yeah, I know. Thanks."

Kaiba just ignored her, wondering why she would thank him for forcing her to take care of a bill that she had originally been complaining about. That was a little annoying. "Why do you complain about money when you obviously have enough?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"Hm?" she said, looking up. Her cheeks were puffed from stuffing lobster rolls into her mouth.

"The check. You said you weren't rich when it's obvious that you are quite well off. I understand that being a teacher's assistant is not the most financially stable career choice but it boggles my mind how you are able to afford that designer bag, your large jewelry, or your so-called motorcycle when you 'aren't rich'," he said, narrowing his eyes.

Kisara smiled a little. "I'm not rich," she answered with a little laugh. "My big brother bought me all those things. That's why I always use this bag, and wear the jewelry and drive the bike. My _Nii-sama _watches out for me – he's the one that's well off, but I hate asking him for things so he doesn't know about this stuff."

"About what?" Kaiba demanded.

"Me not having money," she said with a shrug. "It's okay, though. I mean, I did offer to pay for lunch today, and you drove me here, so it's only fair."

"You should be getting you first check next week," Kaiba told her, getting back to his meal.

"Yeah, but that's all going to rent," she said, smiling. "It's kind of expensive to live alone in a city. I just moved here and everything, too, so I kind of just bought the first apartment that would have me, and it turned out to be really expensive and really inconvenient. It's on the other side of town, super far from school and work, but it's okay," she said with a shrug. "It's so hard to move now since I'm already living there and I'm the one that wanted to come back to Domino City so it's my own fault for getting such a crappy place to live."

"You're right. It is your fault," Kaiba said without sympathy. "But you can either sit there and cry about it, or work hard to make a better life for yourself."

Kisara blinked a few times, not sure whether or not to take that as an insult or a compliment, but in the end, of course, smiled. "Thanks."

The waiter brought the check as Kaiba finished his meal. Kisara reached for it, but Kaiba snatched it away and slipped in 5,000 yen. That was more than enough to take care of the bill; it was pocket change to him – the pocket change _for _his pocket change – but apparently every yen counted for this woman. "Let's go," he told her, standing up without another word.

"Thank you," he heard Kisara say behind him, but chose to ignore it. He had no idea what had gotten into him today. Then something occurred to him. Was that—was that a date? No, it wasn't. Right? _No_, she didn't think it was, so it couldn't have been. Was there even such a thing as a date for lunch? _Of course_ there was, but was that one?

"That wasn't a date," Kaiba said before he could stop himself. He didn't even realize that he had gotten into his car and Kisara was next to him, her seatbelt already buckled.

Kisara laughed. "Yeah, I know."

"Good," he said, sticking the keys into the ignition. He shifted into reverse, pulling out of the parking stall. Lunch was short today, but at least he actually got a chance to eat. Food during lunch was a pretty decent idea; it gave him a second wind and he was ready to get back to work.

"Not like you'd know how to take a girl out on a date anyway," she teased quietly.

Kaiba jammed on the breaks so sharply that Kisara jerked forward. He glared at her through electric blue eyes. "I dare you to say that again."

"Challenge accepted: not like you'd know how to take a girl out on a date anyway," she repeated, smiling despite Kaiba's crushing gaze.

"Not like any man would take a woman like _you_ on a date," Kaiba snarled, annoyed.

"Oh, ouch, no need to get personal," she laughed, waving him off. "And, not that it's any of your beeswax, but I've been on tons of dates."

"Oh, really? I highly doubt that," Kaiba responded, not moving the car forward at all.

"I'm very fun company on a date," Kisara told him as a matter-of-fact. "Genius programmer? Sultry jazz singer? Cute as a button? Please, men of Los Angeles, one at a time," she joked, pretending to fend off a fan club.

"The quality of men in Los Angeles must have declined," Kaiba countered.

Kisara smirked slightly. "The quality of men in Japan is worse."

"I can only assume your tiny pea-sized brain is not including me in that ranking," Kaiba snapped.

"Oh, no, I am," she assured him jokingly. "That's why it's especially low."

Kaiba's grip hardened on the wheel. He tried to force his mouth not to open and reveal his next words, but he body didn't listen. "Tomorrow night, then. Eight _sharp _in front of the company building."

"Kaiba-_shachou_, are you asking me on a date?" Kisara teased, not really believing it herself. He _never _backed down from challenges, did he?

"Wear something less peasant looking," Kaiba said, ignoring her, shifting the car to drive and crushing his foot on the gas.

"I don't dress like a peasant," Kisara said, looking down at herself. It was hard to see what she was wearing because she was drowning in Kaiba's jacket.

"Peasants don't think they dress like peasants," Kaiba told her, keeping his eyes in front of him. Dammit, what in the hell was he doing? He didn't have time to play these games. He had work to do, no time for going on dates with annoying women like Kisara.

Even though she knew he wasn't looking, she turned to him and smiled. "I'm excited."

And although Kaiba didn't know it, he was, too.


	5. Chapter 5: Study Session

"It's cool if my friends come over to study, too, right?" Mokuba asked when Kisara came over for their tutoring session.

"Sure," she said, nodding. "I love meeting people." She couldn't help but be in a good mood. Kaiba had kept his end of the deal again, showing up at the café at six thirty, ordering a cup of black coffee and buying several newspapers to keep him occupied through out her performance. He had left at seven thirty without so much as a word to Kisara, but she couldn't help but be a little happy. He held his end of the deal, and it was nice knowing that even though he was giving her the cold shoulder, there was someone in that café for her.

She wondered what happened yesterday. She hadn't expected Kaiba to assume that their lunch was a date, and then actually _ask _her on one. Well, he didn't really ask – he moreso just demanded, but still. She decided against telling her coworkers in her department about this. The last thing she wanted was to cause trouble for the CEO through rumors and unwanted media attention, should the story of their 'date' get out past the workspace. He hadn't spoken another word about tonight, though, so a part of her wondered if she had just imagined the whole thing.

"Great. It's okay if we go to my friend's house today, too, right?" he asked, shifting his bag. He had been meeting Kisara outside of Tsuki's on Tuesdays and Thursdays, discovering that this was where she had lunch everyday. He was also surprised to find out that she had a motorcycle, but found it very…cute. He even got to ride with her!

"Yeah, that's fine," she said, waving him off. "Can I follow them or something? It might be safer for you to ride with them if they have a car."

"Okay, yeah, my friend Anzu actually has the red Altima over there," he said, pointing to the car. "We're all going to Yugi's house."

"Eeeeh? Yugi? The world champ?" she asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, that one," Mokuba said sheepishly, scratching his head.

"Wow, that's great. I've always wanted to meet him! I don't need to be into Duel Monsters to know that his dueling is amazing! Just tell your friend to start driving, I'll keep up," she said, making her way over to her motorcycle. Mokuba didn't really understand why she didn't bring her helmet with her _inside _Tsuki's in case it got stolen, but decided not to say anything about it.

Mokua jogged back to his car, hopping into the backseat.

"Oy, oy, Mokuba, your _tutor_ is quite the looker!" Jonouchi teased, nudging him. "You sure you only learnin' programmin'?"

Anzu tsk-ed, making a face at Joey through the rear view mirror. "Stop being dirty, Jonouchi. What would Kaiba say if he knew you were corrupting his baby brother?"

"Screw Kaiba," Jonouchi mumbled, but Mokuba chose to ignore that. He couldn't change Jonouchi's opinion on his brother and was through trying. "Anyway, Mokuba. How's the _tutoring_ sessions been treatin' ya?"

Anzu sighed, deciding that Jonouchi was just not going to change. She backed out of the parking stall, checking in the rear view mirror that Kisara was on her bike before leaving the lot, glancing up again to see her electric blue Kawasaki right behind her. "Her helmet is cute," she commented, seeing that Kisara's helmet was a pearly white with blue highlights and little cat ears protruding from it.

"_She's _cute," Honda commented.

"Oy, man, back off, she's Mokuba's," Jonouchi told Honda, shoving him teasingly.

"She's not," Mokuba insisted, waving his hands.

"Aw, that's cute, you've got a little crush on her, huh, Mokuba?" Anzu asked, glancing at Mokuba through the mirror.

Mokuba's face paled and the group laughed. "N-no! She's my tutor! That'd be weird! Plus, she's like four years older than me!"

"Nothing wrong with liking older women," Jonouchi said with a grin. Mokuba chuckled at that, as Jonouchi's current girlfriend, Kujaku Mai, was much older than him. Mokuba always had a feeling that those two would be together, and he was right. After he graduated from high school, Jonouchi was a little hesitant at first – as what elegant woman like Mai would find any interest in a fresh-out-of-high-school kid like Jonouchi – but it turned out she was just waiting until he was older as well. After the whole incident with Dartz, Mai had left, but come back to Jonouchi. They had been together officially for a few years now.

"I was actually thinking of introducing Kisara to Seto," Mokuba said, receiving looks of disbelief from his friends.

"Kaiba? You was gonna introduce that cute girl to _Kaiba_? He'd chew her up and spit her back out and she won't be cute no more, man," Jonouchi said, shaking his head. "Keep that one a secret from your big bro, Mokuba. That's just my opinion."

"While no one asked for your opinion, Jonouchi," Honda started, receiving a whack from Jonouchi, "I gotta agree. I doubt Kaiba's even interested in meeting girls, since he has a company to run and all. Plus, your tutor seems like she's too sweet for Kaiba anyway. You're better off keeping her for yourself."

Mokuba frowned a little, but was a little relieved. He had been planning to introduce his tutor to his brother and have her show off a little, showing Seto that Mokuba hadn't just hired Kisara because he was cute. And she was a programmer – how could Seto not be interested in a woman of her intellect? Oh, well, Mokuba thought. He was better off listening to his friends anyway. He didn't want Kisara to be another notch on his brother's bedpost. She deserved better than that.

Damn, what was Mokuba thinking? _She deserved better than that_. He didn't even know her! He sighed, hoping that he would get over this infatuation soon. Anzu pulled into Yugi's lot and the five of them emerged from the car. Kisara pulled up shortly, killing her engine. She pulled off her helmet, shaking her hair out as she kicked out her bike stand. Mokuba caught up with her shortly.

"Guys, this is my programming tutor, Kisara," he said gesturing to her. "Kisara, these are my friends Mazaki Anzu, Honda Hiroto, Jonouchi Katsuya, and Mutou Yugi."

Kisara bowed low. "_Dozouyoroshiku_," she said sweetness, throwing everyone off with her polite attitude. She stood up and smiled widely. "It's so nice to meet you. I'm a huge fan, Yugi-_san_. You, too, Jonouchi-_san_!"

"Eh? You've heard of me?" Jonouchi said, sounding confused. He quickly gathered himself. "I mean, yeah, of course you've heard of me! Duelist Kingdon, Battle City, and Kaiba Grand Prix runner up, nice to know I have fans!"

"That's not that impressive when you say it like that, man," Honda teased, nudging his friend.

"Thanks," Yugi said sheepishly, ignoring his friends as they began to fight playfully. "I don't really duel to much anymore, but it is nice to know that some people still know about that stuff."

"Oh, yeah, I totally follow Duel Monsters back when it was super huge with you and Kaiba-_shachou_," she said, following Yugi into the house. "I had just left for America at the time, so I couldn't watch personally, but I have seen all your televised ones! I'm so impressed, even now."

"Do you play Duel Monsters as well, Kisara-_san_?" Yugi asked, kicking off his shoes.

Kisara shook her head. "No, I wasn't that great at the game, but I do like to watch," she said with a smile. "Oh, _konnichiwa_," she added, turning to Yugi's grandfather, who just so happened to be passing.

"Oh, ah, _konnichiwa_," Solomon said with a gentle smile.

"Ah, _Ojii-san_, this is Mokuba's tutor, Kisara," Yugi said, introducing her. She held out her hand and Solomon shook it.

"It is an honor to meet you as well! I heard you taught Yugi-_san _and Jonouchi-_san _how to play Duel Monsters, and they're best in the world. You're like, _the _tutor," she said with a smile, and Anzu rolled her eyes playfully as Solomon blushed visibly from the stream of compliments.

"Ah, nah, it was nothing," he said sheepishly. "I, ah, have to go take care of the shop for a bit, so you kids have fun studying. It was nice to meet you, Kisara-_san_."

"Likewise," she said with a bow. She turned to Mokuba. "Mokuba-_san_, your friends are really cool!"

"Well, we're all friends now, aren't we?" Jonouchi said, plopping down onto the couch.

"Really?" Kisara asked, sounding confused.

"Yeah, man, we know your name and you know ours, and you're a super chill chick, so you're welcome to come hang out with us any time, even for non-studyin' reasons. Ain't that right?" Jonouchi asked, and all his friends nodded. In the brief five minutes that they had known her, they were pleasantly surprised with how sweet she was.

"That's so nice of you," she said with a smile. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank us for being friends, Kisara-_san_," Yugi said, holding his hands up sheepishly. "It's only right."

"Oh, well, it's just that most of my friends are back in Los Angeles, and I haven't had time to meet people here between school and work," she said, laughing. "Sorry if I'm a little weird."

"Nah, don't worry about it," Honda said with a chuckle. "We're all a little weird."

Kisara smiled. Today was going to be a fantastic day.

"Anyway, Kisara-_san_, you said you came from Los Angeles? You don't really look like you're from America," Anzu said, sitting on the floor near Yugi's legs.

"Oh, I'm actually from Japan," she said with a smile. "Well, I was born here, and I lived in Australia for a little with my parents during high school, but I did my undergraduate degree in America for a change in atmosphere. It was a nice experience, but I wanted to come back to Domino to finish up school and work here as well."

"Mokuba tells us you're a genius programmer," Yugi said, and Kisara smiled.

"Sort of," she said, laughing. "I just like computer stuff."

"You should work at Kaiba Corp, then," Yugi said with a smile. "Kaiba's the best when it comes to gaming and programming stuff. I'm sure if you showed him something you've done, you'd get a job in a snap."

Kisara smiled, placing herself next to Anzu on he floor. "Actually—"

"Oy, oy, that's a terrible suggestion, Yugi," Jonouchi interrupted. "Didn't we already say that Kaiba's an ass?" He turned to Kisara and held up a finger. "Mokuba is probably the awesomest kid ever, but Kaiba's a bad dude, Kisa-_chan_."

Kisara smiled. "I'm sure he's not that bad. Right, Mokuba-_san_?"

Mokuba nodded. "Yeah, my brother's great. He just gave Yugi guys a lot of trouble back when they used to duel together," he said with a shrug.

She giggled. "Does Kaiba-_shachou _duel still?"

Mokuba shook his head, wondering why she was addressing his brother as 'president'. He supposed that made sense, Seto _was _the president of Kaiba Corp. "No, he doesn't. I think he wants to, but it's just that he doesn't have a lot of time."

Kisara frowned slightly. "That's sad. He used to love it, right?"

"Yeah, but work gets kind of crazy," Mokuba said with a shrug.

Kisara hummed slightly, sounding a little disappointment, but before Mokuba could ask about it, Jonouchi's phone went off. He answered it with a very loud, "What's up?" in English.

"What's up? Where are you, that's what's up," said the voice from the other end, a female voice.

"Yugi's house," Jonouchi answered, making a face at his friends as though he had been caught. Of course, it was his girlfriend Kujaku Mai. "I thought I told you that. We're all studyin', and Mokuba's brought his tutor to meet us, she's cool. You should come over and meet her, too."

"Jonouchi, studying? You better actually be studying. Your thesis is coming up, have you even decided what you're going to do?" she scolded.

"No, that's why we're studyin'," Jonouchi countered with a grin. "Come on, come over, we can hang o—I mean, study! You can help me think of somethin' ta do for my thesis, you know, all that good stuff."

Mai sighed. "Sure. I'll see you in a little bit, then."

"Alright, _jaa_, Mai," he said with a grin, relieved that his blonde bombshell girlfriend wasn't too upset.

"_Jaa, anta_," she replied, and was gone with a click.

Kisara smiled. "Kujaku Mai is coming over, too?"

Jonouchi blinked several times. "You know Mai?"

"Harpy Lady deck, right? Yeah, I know her. Come on, I said I was up to date with the Duel Monsters stuff," she said with a smile, pulling out books from her bag. "Talk about girl power! Are you and Mai-_san _dating?"

Jonouchi grinned proudly. "Yep. Three years in a couple of days."

"Congratulations," Kisara said.

"You, ah, datin' anyone, Kisa-_chan_?" Jonouchi asked, sending a not-so-incognito look Mokuba's way, the younger boy flailing mentally. Kisara didn't seem to notice, though, and laughed a little.

"Not really," she said with a shrug.

"Oh, ho, not _really_, so there _is _a dude. Who is it?" Jonouchi asked with a grin.

Anzu frowned. "Jonouchi, we just met her, don't intrude on her personal life. Please excuse my friend," she told Kisara with a sigh.

"Oh, no, I don't mind," she said, laughing. "I say not really because I'm not dating but I do have a date tonight."

"Woah, woah, who's it with?" Jonouchi asked, ignoring Anzu's advice of not prying.

Kisara smiled, holding a finger to her lips. "That part's a secret."

"Aw, but I wanna know," Jonouchi whined, and Kisara laughed as Anzu shoved him playfully.

"I'll tell you guys if it goes well," she said. "Which…I think it will, so, yeah, probably the next time I see you guys, I'll tell. But until then, it's a secret."

"Fine, fine," Jonouchi said, waving her off.

"What, ah, time is your date tonight?" Mokuba asked, trying not to sound a little disappointed that Kisara had an arrangement with another man.

"Eight," she said. "So I have time to help you out and do work before I have to go, so don't worry."

"Oh, okay," Mokuba said, even though that wasn't really what he was worried about. He didn't want to know who she was going out with tonight because then that would mean that it didn't go well.

Not that he, you know, _wanted _her date to be terrible. He could tell just by looking at her that she did seem a little more happy than usual. She was excited for her date tonight, and he just wanted to be happy for her.

"Um, so anyway, I was having a little trouble with induction," Mokuba said, opening his books.

"Oh, okay," she said, and everyone tried to secretly pay attention to see her teach. "Umm, so think of induction like a ladder. If you can prove that you can step up the first step of the ladder, then that means you can prove you can prove you can step on the first step-plus one, which is the second step, and prove that you can step on all the steps to infinity," she said. "Try it on this one, try to solve _k+1_."

"Okay," Mokuba said, trying out the problem. Her explanation simplified things a lot.

"Wait, wait, if you're a programmer, Kisa-_chan_, and you lived in California, how come you didn't just head on over to Industrial Illusions?" Jonouchi asked. "They're top of the notch stuff, too, ya know."

"Oh, yes, I know," she said. "But Pegasus was more into gaming and distributing when I was there, and I wanted to come back home to Domino. I missed it a lot." Industrial Illusions had, in fact, offered her a job; Pegasus had come to her himself and offered one to her right after graduation, but she had to turn him down.

"Is there someone else offering you a job?" he had asked in English, raising an eyebrow. He had come to her on the day of her graduation, actually, right after the ceremony, receiving looks from her fellow classmates as to why the _creator _of Duel Monsters was approaching her on graduation day.

"Oh, no," she answered. "I'm just looking to work for someone else. I'm heading back to Domino City tomorrow, actually."

"Domino City in Japan? Could it be that you're looking to work for Kaiba-boyat his company headquarters?" he asked, switching to Japanese and looking amused.

"Yeah, actually," she said, confused as to how he could possibly know that.

"Well, if you ever change your mind, Kisa ra-_chan_, the position is always available. Please give me a call if you ever change your mind," he said, and handed her his business card – a Duel Monster card, of course – with all his personal information. "Good luck with Kaiba-boy."

She had thanked him sincerely and he had left, just like that. She did want to work for Kaiba Corporations. It was why she gave up the chance of a lifetime to work at Industrial Illusions. Anyone would have thought she was completely insane, but no. Kisara…believed in fate. And she trusted that there was a reason she needed to come back to Japan to see Kaiba.

"Hey, Yugi, mind if I turn this on?" Jonouchi asked, gesturing to the game console sitting under the television.

"Aren't you supposed to be studying?" Anzu sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Uh, sure, you can, Jonouchi, but you should start working on your thesis and stuff before either one, you don't have one, or two, Mai gets angry," Yugi said with a little smile. "You don't want Mai to be in a bad mood for your three year anniversary later this week, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Jonouchi said, but flicked the on switch anyway. "Just one round and I _promise _I will start thinkin' about my thesis."

Kisara looked up at the game coming up and grinned. It was a first person shooter game that she remembered she played a lot back in Los Angeles. Her senior year she had roomed with a bunch of guys – as they were her friends and a single room in their house was all she could afford – so they were up all night playing this and even asked her to join in most of the time. "How about we play together? One round, then your thesis," Kisara challenged, crawling to grab the second controller. She turned it on and activated her player window on the screen.

"Ah, but you're challengin' the champ," Jonouchi told her. "You're just wastin' your time, Kisa-_chan_."

"Champ? _Please_, kid, I would totally wipe the floor with you," she teased, receiving a round of 'oohs' from everyone else in the room.

"Eeeh? _Kid_? We'll see about that!" he responded as the game started.

"Don't screen look," Kisara warned.

"I don't need to screen look to beat your ass."

"If I catch you looking, I'm gonna make you pay."

"You're the one who shouldn't be screen lookin'," Jonouchi replied, maneuvering his character through the stage. "You may be a game programmer, Kisa-_chan_, but I—what the hell?" Jonouchi cried as his character sniped in the head.

"Oy, what were saying?" she teased, moving her character to pick up some more ammo. "Ah, what do I even need ammo for? I can kill Jonouchi-_san_ in one shot," she laughed, receiving the same response from her new friends.

This went on for some time, Jonouchi losing quite badly to Kisara at a number of different video games. They played a round of first person shooters, arcade style fighting games, and even played the new Mario co-op game, which Kisara dominated, as Jonouchi would jeopardize the mission by always running into Goombas or other monsters while Kisara just dodged enemies and ran for the flag. She was even able to tutor Mokuba while winning at video games.

"Okay, let's play that first one again, but this time, five outta seven," Jonouchi insisted after they had cleared a world in Mario. He pushed in the next game and was about to start selecting his character when a voice interrupted him.

"_Jonouchi Katsuya_," snapped a woman from the door. Jonouchi quickly tried to shuffle around for the remote to turn off the television. "Are you playing _video games_?"

"No," Jonouchi said, finding the remote and clicking off the screen. He turned around to see Mai with her arms crossed over her chest, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders. "I was, ah, helpin' our new friend Kisara learn how to play, ya know, in case she wanted to challenge me and get a beat down!"

"Ah, _hajimemashite_," Kisara said, standing up to greet Mai, who merely stared at her. "I'm Kisara. I'm sorry for keeping Jonouchi-_san _away from his studies."

"No, it's really not her fault," Jonouchi said immediately, coming to his new friend's defense. "I, ah, just wanted to show her the ropes, ya know? I volunteered."

"Kujaku Mai," the blonde woman said, holding her hand out to Kisara, who shook it in greeting. "You seem nice and I appreciate your attempt to protect Jonouchi, but there's no need. I know he wasn't studying or even working on his thesis a little bit."

"I totally was!" Jonouchi tried again, but a glare from Mai shut him up.

Mai made her way over to the other side of the couch and sighed. "Jonouchi, please be more responsible. I want you to graduate on time with all your friends, you know."

"I know, I just don't like school, that's all," he replied slumping over. Mai had won again.

"You've been here since like, three thirty, Jonouchi. I called you on my way back from work and even had time to go home and shower. Have you and Kisara just been playing games for nearly three hours?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, it's six thirty already?" Kisara asked, jumping up. "I have to head home."

"I thought your big date was at eight?" Honda asked.

Kisara nodded. "Yeah, but I live really far from here and I can't really take a motorcycle to a date, so I have to catch the train back," she said.

Anzu raised her eyebrows. "Shouldn't your date be picking you up?"

Kisara snorted, stifling her laughter. Kaiba going to her _house _to pick her up for tonight's dinner? "Yeah, he's not that kind of person."

"I say you shouldn't even go to the date, then," Jonouchi said, grateful for the topic change. At least he cold escape Mai's scolding for a little while. "If that dude isn't even nice enough to grab you from home then he ain't even worth it. That's kinda cold."

She laughed, shaking her head. "No, that's just how he is. I'm gonna use the bathroom real quick and come back out to say bye and whatnot, so hold on," she said, asking Yugi where the bathroom was before scurrying off.

Mokuba's computer started making a noise and he clicked on a green button, answering the call. If he was online, his brother normally contacted via webcam, as his phone at the office had that option as well. "_Nii-sama_," he greeted, seeing his brother's face over the camera.

"Where are you?" he asked, rubbing his temples.

"Yugi's. We had a study session," he said, Anzu and Yugi peering into the camera. Yugi waved hello to Kaiba, but he was, of course, ignored.

"I thought you had a meeting with your tutor."

"Oh, yeah, we did," Mokuba said with a nod. "I just asked for this week's lesson, that's all, so I finished already. It's cool if you wanted to pick me up now, if that's easier for you."

"No, it's fine, you can stay there with your friends," Kaiba said, sounding exhausted. Anzu and Yugi exchanged glances – normally Kaiba would have leapt at the chance to steal Mokuba from them. _And _he had just referred to Yugi and his group as Mokuba's _friends_. "I have an appointment tonight so I won't be able to pick you up. Make sure to get home safely, so no one better drive that car besides Mazaki." Anzu was the only one out of them that had their license, so Kaiba allowed her to drive him, but only her. "I will be home later tonight."

"Oh, you have a meeting for work?" Mokuba asked. Work normally ran a little later on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but Kaiba never scheduled meetings for after six.

"You could call it something like that," he muttered, shaking his head. "Be sure not to come home too late."

"Okay, I'll call when I get home."

"That's fine."

"See you later then, _Nii-sama_," Mokuba said with a smile. "_Jaa_."

"_Jaa mata_," Kaiba said, and was gone.

"Was it just me or did Kaiba seem a little more…weirder than usual?" Anzu asked Yugi. "He looked anxious or something, I don't know how to explain it."

"Yeah, I guess now that you mention it, he did seem a little that way," Yugi agreed. He turned to Mokuba. "Has your brother been okay?"

Mokuba shrugged. "Stressed out from work. He's been tired lately."

"Okay, time to go," Kisara said as she hurried back into the room. She gave hugs to everyone, thanking them. "It was so wonderful to meet all of you. And study hard, okay, Mokuba? I'll see you next week Tuesday. Wish me luck tonight!" Everyone gave her the thumbs up and she smiled in response.

"Good luck! _Jaa_," Mokuba said, waving as she closed the door behind her. Next week seemed like forever and a day more, but he ignored the uneasy feeling. She had a date tonight and it wasn't like she would even glance Mokuba's way anyway.

"Hopefully the date's a dud," Jonouchi said, plopping back into the couch, sinking into the old leather.

"Jonouchi!" Anzu scolded with a sigh.

"What? I'm just sayin' that the guy she's goin' out with sounds like a prick. I mean, he wouldn't even pick her up at her place! What, he tryna save on gas or somethin'? What a cheapskate! Kisa-_chan _shouldn't even go out with that guy in the first place," he said, shaking his head.

Anzu laughed. "Just because he's not picking her up doesn't mean that he's a bad guy."

"And I doubt a girl as sweet as her, and one that looks like that would be going out with a cheapskate anyway," Honda added.

"Tell me about it," Jonouchi said without realizing it, receiving a look from Mai. "I, ah, mean that she's cute, ya know?" Mai's expression didn't change, only deepened as Jonouchi had dug himself a bigger hole. "Like, uh, little girl kind of way, like Mokuba's type! She should go out with Mokuba instead of whatever ass she's dating tonight! That's what I meant!"

Mai just shook her head, rolling her eyes. "But if it doesn't go well, then she won't tell us who it was," Anzu said, chewing on her lip. "And I actually kind of want to know. Kisara is so nice, I wonder who she could be so excited to see."

"Exactly!" Jonouchi exclaimed. "See? And you guys dogged on me when I wanted to know who she was goin' out with tonight!"

"Well, I hope it goes well, then," Yugi said with a smile. "Who knows, maybe we even know him."

"Domino's a pretty big place, Yugi," Anzu said with a shrug. "But that would be pretty crazy if we did know him! Ah, I just want it to be Tuesday already, so we can know who it was! Or, you know, _is, _if they keep dating."

"What if it's Haga?" Honda snorted, remembering that snotty little green haired insect duelist back from Duelist Kingdom.

"Or that guy Ryuzaki," Jonouchi added, laughing.

Honda laughed also, shaking his head. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see, huh?"

Mokuba nodded. "Guess we will."


	6. Chapter 6: First Date

Kisara had sped home as fast as she could after leaving Yugi's. She had to admit that she had a lot of fun with them and was glad that they invited her to hang out with them anytime. She really needed friends; she was beginning to be a little crazy what with her family living in a different part of Japan and her brother not at her side.

Tossing her bag and helmet onto her single mattress, Kisara dove into the bath, showering quickly. She glanced at the clock upon getting out; it was already seven. She checked the time tables for the train online, and saw that there was one leaving the station near her at seven twenty five, giving her just enough time to make it to the front doors of Kaiba Corp if she ran all the way from the destination stop.

She rummaged through her closet – what was left of it, as she had to donate most of her clothes when moving back to Japan – and found the nicest dress she had. It was a cocktail dress her brother had bought her as a part of her gift for graduation. It was a light blue halter drape dress that fell to just above her knees, blue and white strings tying behind her neck. It was backless, but Kisara figured she could just leave her hair down. She plucked a cardigan from a hanger, snatched up her purse, and stamped into her white heels. Glancing in the mirror one time, she straightened her dress before darting from the door.

* * *

><p>"I said eight sharp," Kaiba told her as she approached the Kaiba Corporations building. She had, thankfully, made the train and rushed to Kaiba Corporations. Kaiba was already waiting for her in his Lexus in front of the building.<p>

Kisara was breathing hard, as the hustle to the building hadn't been easy in heels. She had thrown open the door and dove into the car as though her life depended it. She glanced down at the clock in the car. "It's like, eight oh-three," she said through breaths.

"You're late."

"Subway ran late."

"The subway never runs late," Kaiba told her. He didn't move the car. "And I thought you rode a motorcycle."

"Yeah, but I didn't want to ride it in this dress," she said, exhaling. She looked up at him with those vivid blue eyes and offered him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I'm late."

Kaiba grunted in response, finding himself annoyingly unable to kick her out of the car. He had been planning on leaving at 8:01 if she wasn't there, but his fingers wouldn't turn the keys to start the car and drive away. Had he—been looking forward to this?

No, that couldn't be. She had challenged him, saying that the reason why her rating on men was so low was because of him. That was a challenge, right? All he needed to do was take her on one measly date to prove her wrong and everything would go back to normal. He needed to get this out of his system so he could stop thinking about her.

"It's…fine," he growled, and he started the car, shifting into drive.

"Where are we going?" she asked with a smile.

"A restaurant."

"Which restaurant? Are we getting dessert after, too?"

"Stop asking questions."

"I was just wondering."

"You'll see when we get there, so stop," Kaiba told her, his grip tightening on the wheel. Why he ever even asked her on this stupid date was completely beyond him. Had he even asked? No, he recalled their conversation and realized he didn't ask, he basically _ordered _her to go out with him tonight. Dammit, that made him look desperate, didn't it?

"_Fuck_," he mumbled. Why did he care how it made him look?

"Hmm?" Kisara said, turning to him.

"Nothing," he growled.

"You know, if all you're going to do is grunt, then maybe we shouldn't go out tonight. I don't want to talk to a caveman," Kisara said, puffing her cheeks out. Kaiba forced himself not to look at her, forcing himself not to be sucked in by her cuteness.

"It's been five minutes."

"And you haven't been talking."

"_Because it's been five minutes_," Kaiba told her, turning to face her, finally. They were at a stoplight, so he had the chance to look at her. "Look, this is a _one time thing_. This is _never going to happen again _because I don't have _time _to be out gallivanting around town with a woman like _you_. Asking you out was a mistake and while I assure you that it will never happen again, I have already called in reservations, so we have no choice to go out tonight."

"Well, if you don't want to go out then you can just cancel the reservations, and I can go home," Kisara said, turning her eyes to the window.

"We're almost there," Kaiba told her, jamming on the gas as he sped through the light as soon as it flicked to green.

"If you insist on being a jerk, then just cancel the reservations," Kisara said again.

"I said that we're almost there, so cut it out," Kaiba snapped. "Shut your mouth for _two fucking hours_, eat the damn meal and then be on your way so that tomorrow, we can actually do some work."

Kisara was quiet for a long time and Kaiba actually felt a little…uneasy. Perhaps he shouldn't have said something so harsh, but _dammit_, he had felt anxious _all day_ about this dinner. He was not going to cancel it because they had a little disagreement within the first five minutes. She didn't come in to work on Thursdays, so it wasn't like he could see her and try to get out all the jitters then. Instead, he stayed locked in his office, trying to keep his mind away from thinking about tonight, and now that he picked her up, she wanted to _leave_? No, he didn't suffer all day long for _nothing_. This dinner was _happening._

"Fine," she said quietly, keeping her eyes faced out the window. "Sorry."

It was so _infuriating_! Normally Kaiba _loved _being right. People _should _apologize to him because he knew that he was always right, but right now, for the first time, he actually felt like a jerk. Although Kaiba didn't know enough about her, he knew that she wasn't _stupid _like other women that followed him around and demanded for his attention. She was both book smart, and witty, not afraid to make jokes at him one moment, and then talking about rewriting loops and making program mounts the next. She never, not once, even asked for him to pay attention to her. And now, she said sorry for something that clearly wasn't her fault because she hadn't done _anything_. But yet he spoke to her like she was trash and for the first time, Seto Kaiba felt…bad.

"No, I'm sorry," he told her, keeping his eyes forward. He took a deep breath, as she didn't seem to believe his apology, keeping her own blue eyes turned to the window. He clenched his teeth, trying his best not to start screaming at her. Did she not realize that he _never _apologized? "I was…anxious about tonight, and I haven't been out for a while, so I admit that it is uncomfortable for me. This is a one time thing," he said again, just to be clear. "So let's just…not argue."

"Okay," Kisara said immediately, turning to Kaiba to smile at him. "That's so cute of you to say. I was really looking forward to tonight, too, even if it is just a one time thing."

"Shut up," he said, not looking at her as she just giggled, like she knew that he was a little embarrassed. Since when did he even _say _things like that? He sighed, hoping that after tonight, these puzzling feelings would vanish and he would be able to focus on work.

Kaiba pulled into a swanky looking restaurant, and the valet pulled open Kisara's door. "Thank you," she told him politely with a bow, but in response, received an odd look from the valet as he saw Kaiba emerge from the driver's side.

"One scratch and I'll be sure to have your license revoked permanently," Kaiba threatened, flinging his keys at the young man, who could only stand there dumbfounded.

Kisara laughed, shaking her head "Oh, come on, you could have been nicer. He nearly wet himself."

Kaiba just rolled his eyes, ignoring her. She didn't even realize that the reason why the valet looked so dumbfounded was because Kaiba had showed up with her. "Good evening, Kaiba-_sama_," the hostess said, bowing. She was dressed in a sleek black dress, her dark hair pulled up into a bun.

"I have reservations," he told her.

"Yes, sir," she said with another bow, leading them towards a table. Kisara glanced around. She had never been in this restaurant before – it was a dimly lit room where all the customers were dressed like they were going to ball or something of the like. Even in her nicest outfit, Kisara felt overwhelmingly underdressed, what with the food servings the size of her thumb.

"You know that you didn't need to take me to a fancy restaurant," she told Kaiba as she slid into her chair.

"This is not a fancy restaurant," Kaiba assured her as the hostess placed down two slim menus.

"I'm kind of hungry," Kisara said, trying again.

"We're at a restaurant; it is not against the rules to eat."

"Yeah, it kind of when the food servings are like, so teeny tiny."

Kaiba opened the menu, but lifted his eyes so that they were locked with hers, blue clashing with blue. "This is a one time occurrence, so feel free to eat. I happen to know that this particular restaurant does indeed serve good food and I also know that you will probably never taste anything like it again in your natural born life. Take advantage of the opportunity and order whatever you like because it will not be happening again."

Kisara was quiet for a little while, blinking in confusion, but then smiled a little. "Okay. Thanks."

The waitress came by. "May I start you two off with any drinks or appetizers?"

"Just water," Kisara answered. She didn't even want to know how much a simple melon soda cost here and didn't want to burden Kaiba.

"Red or white?" Kaiba asked her.

"Hmm? My favourite color is actually blue."

"_Wine_, what kind of _wine _do you like?" Kaiba asked exasperatedly.

"Oh, no, I don't need wine, Kaiba-_shachou_," she said, waving her hands.

He sighed. "Your finest Romanee Conti. And bring her a melon soda as well," he told the waitress.

"And _edamame_?" Kisara asked with a hopeful smile.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "And an order of _edamame_."

"Thank you," the silver haired woman said to both Kaiba and the waitress, the latter of which went back into the kitchen. "Also, what's Romanee Conti?"

"Red wine," Kaiba answered.

"I've never really had wine with food before," Kisara said. "I've only had champagne with my brother after I graduated, but that's all. I graduated from a university in Los Angeles, UCLA, do you know it?"

Kaiba was surprised. That was actually a very good school. He didn't know _why _he was surprised, since he knew that she was smart. "I do. Why are you attending Domino University, then? I'm sure that UCLA has a graduate school."

"I wanted to work in Japan," she said with a smile. "California was beautiful but this is my home. I also wanted to work for Kaiba Corp."

"There's a headquarters in New York," Kaiba responded.

"I know," Kisara said. "But I wanted to work for you."

Kaiba cleared his throat and turned his face away slightly. Who in the world said cheesy things like that and actually made them sound sort of...cute? Dammit, he just needed the date to be over to get these weird feelings to disappear. "If you worked in New York, you would also be working for me. What does it matter whether or not you are in Japan or America? All of our headquarters are still headquarters."

"Are you firing me?" she asked teasingly.

"No, I am merely asking."

"I just wanted to come here and work for you personally. Worked out, didn't it? You made me your lead programmer, I'm sure whoever is in charge of the headquarters in New York would have been skeptical about a new college grad being lead of a whole team," she said, laughing a little. "I wanted to come here and give the Mini-K-"

"That is _not _what we are going to call it," Kaiba interrupted.

Kisara giggled. "-to you. I thought you'd like it. Do you?"

"I have made it our top priority, haven't I?" was his response, and Kisara decided to take that as a yes.

"Thanks for, you know, taking me seriously and everything," she said, looking down at her slender fingers on the table.

Kaiba chose not to respond to that, feeling a little grateful when the waitress returned with their drinks. She poured them both shallow glasses of the alcoholic drink, also placing down Kisara's melon soda down in front of her. "Are you ready to order?"

The brunette across of her tilted his head towards Kisara and the waitress turned to her, her pen and notepad out ready to write. Kisara shook her head. "Oh, no, Kaiba-_shachou _can order."

Kaiba's request was quick and simple. "Order _now_."

"I don't know what to eat here."

"Favorite sashimi," Kaiba stated. It wasn't so much of a question, rather a demand for her to reveal that information.

"Um, maguro."

"Favorite tempura."

"Zucchini."

"Chicken or steak?"

"Steak."

Kaiba turned to the waitress. "An order of assorted tempura, half shrimp and half zucchini; Maguro tataki and a platter of maguro-hamachi carpaccio; and we will both be having rib-eye beef filet, medium rare. If it even the slightest bit burnt, even though I do not own this restaurant, I will personally fire all of the chefs and hire ones that actually know how to prepare a meal."

"Yes, Kaiba-_sama_," the waitress said with a polite bow and rushed off.

Kisara laughed a little. "Ordering for me was sweet, but that last part was kinda mean," she teased, smiling at him. Kaiba grunted in response, causing Kisara to laugh. "How has, um, work been?"

"Tiring, because of you."

The silver haired woman just laughed once again. "It's hard running a company, isn't it?"

"You have no idea."

"I don't," she agreed. "But after dinner, if you'd let me, I have something I'd like to give you to relieve some CEO-grade stress."

"I pray you're not suggesting we go to bed together."

Kisara snorted laughter. "Please, Kaiba-_shachou, that _home remedy is only for the extremely lucky kind of grade-A suitors." She stuck out her tongue to let him know she was only joking.

"I suppose you and I haven't met, then."

"Oh, we have, and unfortunately, Kaiba-_shachou_, you wont' be getting lucky with me tonight," she teased. "However, I do still have something for you."

"What is it, then?"

Kisara giggled. "It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises."

"No one hates surprises."

"I do."

"'Cause you've never had one," she responded, grinning. "But never fear, Kaiba-_shachou_, 'cause Kisa-_chan _is going to give you the best surprise ever!"

"Joy."

"I know, I'm excited as well," she joked, laughing. Ugh, dammit, why did Kaiba have to think that she was cute? Now he actually _wanted _to know what she was planning! He didn't even understand why he kept responding to her when she talked. The first tray of food was brought by, a small serving of fresh maguro that was very faintly seared with a side of ponzu sauce. Kisara looked up at Kaiba as though asking for permission to eat it.

"Do I need to spoon feed you? I apologize; I'm not that kinky," he said, and Kisara stifled back laughter.

"You know, you're actually kinda funny," she said, lifting a piece of maguro to her lips with her chopsticks. "It's kind of cute."

Kaiba just rolled his eyes at her forever impervious attitude, and the two sat in more silence as the rest of their food came by. Seto snapped his chopsticks and took a sip of his wine before starting on his food. Kisara was happily eating, chewing her food slowly as though savoring the taste. "So," Kaiba said, and she turned her blue eyes his way. She had talked a lot and it seemed like she was waiting for him to speak. "How, ah, long did it take for you to make your computer?"

"The Mini-K?" she asked, covering her mouth as she was still chewing food.

"I already told you that we're not going to call it that."

She laughed, swallowing. "I dunno, it was my little project throughout my undergrad in Los Angeles, so off and on, about four years or so."

"Everything, by yourself?"

"Everything by myself," she confirmed. She grinned widely. "Are you super impressed?"

"No."

"Don't lie."

"Do you ever shut up?"

"You're the one that started the conversation," she said, laughing. "I really just love computers, that's why I did everything alone. I'd go a little bonkers if I had an assistant or anything and I wanted the Mini-K to be a piece of me."

"We're not calling it that," Kaiba said again.

Kisara ignored him. "Computers are really fascinating, you know? It's like a whole new language and a whole new breed of technology," she continued. "It might seem all organized and rigid and really strict, but I think with the right mindset, it's completely possible to make it your own, you know?"

"No," Kaiba said immediately. "Computers are _made _to be strict and organized. That's why they are such useful tools in today's world. If they were easily swayed by the whispers of insignificant programmers such as yourself, the entire industry would be ruined."

"Or it would grow," Kisara countered.

"Unlikely."

The silver haired woman shrugged, popping a slice of maguro into her mouth. "Well, you never know."

"I _do _know. I have been in this industry for over ten years."

"And what's it done for you?" Kisara asked. "Nothing."

"I have been able to provide a better life for my brother," Kaiba shot back, narrowing his eyes.

"What about your own life?" she asked. It wasn't sarcastic, it wasn't demeaning, she was simply...asking. As though asking how the weather was, or what time it was - it was just a question that she sounded to sincerely want the answer to.

What _about _Kaiba's life? It had been filled with stacks of paper, corporate push-overs breathing down his neck, thousands of people expecting him to be a thousand different places at once, people expecting him to care about all their minute little problems. His life have been consumed by business, by being a businessman, and frankly, he was so fucking tired of it, he just wanted to scream.

But what made him the most annoyed was that Kisara already seemed to know that. It was like she could see right through him, but was hesitant, as though unsure about whether or not to reach out and help him stand up and fix the mess he had made of his life. It _was _a mess, wasn't it? No, that wasn't even a question. Kaiba was drowning, and he knew it. Drowning in work, and the pressure of people expecting him to do everything for them. But this was why he needed to have walls. He couldn't depend on anyone like how people depended on him because it would just make him weaker and put pressure on anyone he was depending on. He was an island. Kaiba was...alone.

"What could you possibly know about my life?" Kaiba responded coldly. "You are the younger sibling and therefore your elder brother and your parents have provided everything for you on a silver platter. You know nothing about the sacrifices I had to make for my family and I damn well do _not _need a lecture from you."

"I wasn't trying to lecture you," Kisara said, taking a sip from her glass of wine. She tasted it a little, swallowing it while making a little face. She drank from her melon soda instead. "I was just asking. I thought you might want to hang out some time, you know, outside of work. I made new friends today and I'm sure you'd find them good company."

"I don't need any of your mushy crap to run a company," Kaiba responded without a second thought. "So you can keep your little friends; I want nothing to do with them."

"Suit yourself," Kisara said with a shrug. "But you know, in case you ever do feel alone, I'm on the other side of town, but I do have a motorcycle. I can come see you at any time. I may not really understand but if you need someone to yell to then-"

"Stop it," Kaiba said, not looking up at her. "I just said that I don't need any of your mushy crap, so just stop. Talk about something else."

Kisara paused for a moment, needing a moment to recover. He hadn't yelled at her, and his tone hadn't been harsh, but for some reason, she felt such an ache in her chest. It was like a blow from a sledgehammer, knocking the wind out of her and leaving her with a hollow, empty feeling. Was that...how Kaiba felt?

"What's your favorite color?" she asked with a smile.

"What?" he responded, seeming to be snapping back into reality as well.

"Favorite color?"

"Blue," he answered, getting back to his steak.

"Mine, too," she said. "Your favorite food is steak, too, isn't it?"

"Yours is _edamame_."

"I also like melon soda."

"I can see that."

"Is your favorite drink Romanee Conti?" she asked, gesturing to the bottle of wine.

"Daiginjo sake."

"I've never had that."

"Of course you haven't. It's the most expensive sake in the world."

"Is that what makes it good?"

"Money makes everything better."

"That's the theory."

"That's the _truth_."

The silver haired girl just laughed, as usual. She smiled sweetly at him, brushing the silver hair from her face. "Thank you for dinner, Kaiba-_shachou_."

Kaiba immediately turned his face away again. They were in the middle of a little debate and she went ahead and said something like that to totally throw him off! She was nice, despite the fact that he knew he could be a little unpleasant and had insulted her several times already even though in the car, he said he didn't want to argue. But it was in his nature to argue. It was in his nature to be right and make others feel insignificant.

But Kisara was unaffected. And Kaiba didn't understand why. "Are you done?" he asked, turning his eyes back to her finally.

She nodded. "Yep, it was delicious. Thanks," Kisara said, patting her belly. All the food on her side of the table was gone. She really had been hungry, hadn't she? Why didn't she eat more during the day?

Kaiba called the waitress for the check and Kisara actually tried to reach for it. Kaiba pulled it from her grasp. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Well, I can't make you pay for _all _the food. This is a really nice place and you drove here and everything, so I can pay for a little bit. I'm not a freeloader, you know. I was planning on helping out on paying," she said, and tried to reach over the table again.

Once more, Kaiba moved the thin black book from her grasp, narrowing his eyes. "I said I was taking care of it, so it's fine."

"But—"

"This is a one time thing. It won't be happening again, so just don't start thinking that I'm going to be paying for everything," Kaiba said. "And besides, you have rent to pay, so save me the spiel about trying to pay for things you can't afford."

"It's fine, really. I can just maybe ask my brother for a little bit—"

"Do _not _rely on your brother to pull you out of a mess," Kaiba snapped. "If you ever expect to make it anywhere in this world, the only person you have to rely on is yourself. And if I ever hear anything about you asking your brother for help again, I'm going to fire you right on the spot. You're an adult now, you should be able to provide for yourself. Do you understand?"

Kisara blinked several times, and nodded. "Okay," she said, her lips curling into the tiniest of smiles. She nodded one more time. "Okay. Sorry."

Kaiba didn't answer, slipping in 25,000 yen in cash into the little tablet before standing up. Kisara realized that he wasn't going to wait for change as he passed right by her. She quickly gathered her things, and took one last sip of melon soda before hurrying out after him. She bowed politely to the hostess on the way out. "Thank you!" she said, meeting up with Kaiba out in the front.

"Ready for my surprise?" she asked, looking up at the much taller man.

"If I say no?"

"I'm going to cry."

"How _old _are you?" Kaiba snapped, glancing down at Kisara, only to see her grinning.

"Twenty-two."

"That was a rhetorical question."

"What if I was sixteen, though? Wouldn't that be weird, you're like, almost twenty-four, out on a date with a sixteen year old?" Kisara giggled, and Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Eeeew, Kaiba-_shachou_, eeeew!"

"Will you shut up?"

The Lexus pulled up and the valet came out, handing the keys to Kaiba with a bow. "Have a good evening, Kaiba-_sama_, and, um…" he trailed off, looking at Kisara as though afraid that he was supposed to know her name, since she was with Kaiba and must be important.

Kisara bowed her head. "Kisara," she said. "Thank you for parking Kaiba-_shachou_'s car."

"Um, yes, of course, Kisara-_sama_," the valet said with another bow.

"Oh, no, it's just Kisara, I'm—"

"Get in the car before I leave you," Kaiba snapped, rolling down the window.

Kisara smiled at the valet. "I probably won't see you again, so _sayonara_," she said, sliding into the leather interior of Seto Kaiba's car. The valet blinked several times, not sure what just happened. Seto Kaiba was out with a _sweet _woman? Or, at least, she seemed that way. Most rich folk were so snotty and rode around on their high horses that no one at this restaurant particularly cared for them, since most of the employees were regular everyday people. But Kaiba's date tonight was rather nice. That was his date, right?

Now that he thought about it, the valet had never seen Kaiba with company here before besides other men for a business meeting. But tonight, he had been alone, and with a cute girl like that. They had to be dating!

But the young man decided not to share his theory with anyone. The last thing he wanted was Seto Kaiba coming after him for starting rumors.

"So, what were you going to show me?" Kaiba asked, keeping his eyes in front of him as he drove. Damn him for being so curious about what she had planned for him.

"Can you go to the café?" Kisara asked.

"The café is closed."

Kisara plucked something from her bag and grinned. It was a set of keys that Kaiba could only assume belonged to the café. "I told my manager yesterday that I was planning something for Kaiba-_shachou_ today and he gave me a copy of the keys and the code to the security."

"You can get fired," Kaiba told her.

"The higher ups won't find out, I promise," Kisara said. She then added, "not that I, you know, try to deceive bosses or anything. I just wanted to do something nice for you, since you've been super cool to me. You have time, right?"

"I never have time," he replied, his grip tightening on the wheel.

"Well, you're making time right now, right?" She held up a finger. "One more hour and then you can go home."

"I'm looking forward to going home," Kaiba told her, but she just laughed, as though she knew that Kaiba was heading to the café anyway. He tried to stop himself, tried to just turn to the subway and drop her off there, but before he could, his car was sitting alone in the empty parking lot of the café Kisara sung at on Wednesday nights.

She hurried to the front door, Kaiba lagging behind, and dug the keys out, unlocking the door and entering. Kaiba followed shortly, needing to allow his eyes to adjust when she flicked on the lights and deactivated the alarm. "Come on," she said, making her way to the table they had sat at the first day he saw her sing.

"What?" Kaiba asked, glancing around. "I see nothing special."

Kisara reached into her bag and pulled out the computer she had developed. She kept the prototype she had built with her at all times at Kaiba's request, so no one would tamper with it. She placed it down in the middle of the table, turning it on with the palm of her hand. "I stayed up all last night working on something for tonight," she said with a smile.

Before Kaiba could say anything, Kisara's new program appeared. Kaiba felt his chest clench as he saw holographic Duel Monsters cards materialize in front of him. "I don't actually have your deck, but you can choose your own. I have a basic idea of the cards you used based on what I watched back when you used to play in tournaments," she explained, hooking a strand of hair behind her ear. "The three Blue Eyes White Dragons you use are already preloaded into your side of the mat, and I made it so that I can't choose them, so it's more realistic," she said, gesturing to the little mat that had also appeared. It wasn't going to be holographic monsters like Kaiba's duel disks, rather, just the simple card game aspect.

"You play Duel Monsters?" Kaiba asked, not moving.

Kisara shook her head. "No, not really, I mean, I'm not really that great at the card game, but I used to play it as a video game, and I rocked," she teased, grinning.

And for the first time, Kisara saw Kaiba…smile. It was small, very subtle, but it was there, and she saw it. She had watched him bfore on television back when she was in America, and recognized the fire that burned in his eyes. He was really passionate about this game, wasn't he? She had been right to write the program last night and was glad that she confirmed with Mokuba about Kaiba not playing Duel Monsters anymore.

"Well, you've never challenged me," Kaiba said, flicking through the database of cards that Kisara had loaded onto the game. He added cards to his deck, and Kisara did the same, glad that he was actually going to play with her. "Battle City rules," he told her. "Sacrifices for monsters over four stars, and you can attack life points directly. We start at 4,000."

Kisara grinned, noticing how excited Kaiba seemed. "Yeah, I know. Come on, I said I watched you in Battle City, remember? Third place," she added the last part quietly with a giggle, and Kaiba knew again that she was just teasing.

"Oh, such big talk coming from someone not even invited to the tournament," he countered, and she started the round by pressing her palm in the center of the pad again. They both drew five cards and Kisara grinned.

"I told you, I played the video game. It was harder 'cause you couldn't go out and just find whatever card you wanted, you had to win every single one of your cards. It took a while to build up a decent deck, okay?" she said, laughing as Kaiba drew his first card.

It only felt like an hour, but Kaiba and Kisara actually played several rounds of Duel Monsters. She tried changing up her deck every time for a counter strategy, but of course, he was one step ahead of her and was able to form a counter to her counter attacks. She actually knew a variety of different card combinations and how to build the proper deck. She had even tried a burn deck, which was actually a little annoying, as she did get Kaiba down to less than a thousand life points before he was able to finish her off.

He hated to admit it, but it was actually…fun. He hadn't played Duel Monsters for so long, that playing it again – even with holographic cards that didn't even show 3D images of monsters – was refreshing. Kaiba was thoroughly shocked when he checked his watch to find out that it was actually quite late.

"We should go," he told Kisara after their fourth match. She had lost again, this time to the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, but Kaiba had been amused at her strategy to try and draw the Defusion card just in case he did form the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon and was planning a counter strategy to get rid of each one individually, but failed. She had come very close, but for someone that has never really played the real card game, Kaiba thought she was pretty decent.

Kisara glanced at her phone, and gasped a little. "Oh, crap, I didn't realize it'd gotten so late!" she said, standing up. She pressed her palm into the computer, shutting it off, and tossed it into her bag. She scurried to the back, flicking off the lights and setting off the alarm. "The last train is in like, five minutes! But I guess I can make it if I run really fast," Kisara said, lifting her feet to pull off her heels. She bowed politely. "I had a lot of fun tonight, Kaiba-_shachou_. Thank you so much for dinner, I really appreciate it and I will be sure to work hard tomorrow!"

Kisara turned to make a mad dash for the train station, but Kaiba grabbed her wrist, dragging her to the car. "Alone at this time of night, you're likely to be kidnapped and never seen again. It would be inconvenient for me if my lead programmer disappeared, her project along with her. Get in the car."

"Oh, no, it's really okay," Kisara said, trying to wrench free from Kaiba's grasp. "I live really far from here and it'd be really inconvenient for you. You've already done a lot for me, I can't possibly ask you to take me home."

"I was offering," Kaiba said flatly. He released her, making his way over to his side of the car. "Get in."

"Really?" she asked, not sure if she had heard correctly. She stood dumbfounded as the Lexus rumbled to life.

Kaiba rolled down the window. "Hurry up before I change my mind."

Kisara hopped into the car immediately, strapping her heels back on. "Thank you, Kaiba-_shachou_."

"Whatever," he grunted, backing out of the parking stall. The two drove in silence, the last several hours replaying in Kaiba's head. A five-year break from not playing Duel Monsters, and Kaiba had just played four matches with a woman he barely knew, and won, as his strategies were all second nature. He couldn't believe it. He had played a _friendly _match of Duel Monsters. He couldn't even remember the last time he had done that, or if he had ever done that at all.

In the past, all of the matches he played granted rewards – that's why he played. He played because he was good and it was easy for him to get what he wanted when challenging someone to a duel. That was the only child-like privilege he was allowed and he had clung to it as long as possible, but even that had to be ripped from him as well. But this woman, without even really knowing him, had given him back that fiery passion that made him the man he was today.

Did she _really _not know him? She seemed to be able to…see him. He was wrong assuming that she could see _through _him, because she couldn't. Kisara _saw _him for who he was and everything that he stood for. And she…still chose to stay in his company?

"Where do I know you from?" Kaiba asked quietly as they got onto the highway.

"Hmm?" she asked quietly, sounding a little tired.

"I know you from somewhere," he said slowly. "Why?"

Kisara looked at him and for a moment, Kaiba could have sworn that he saw sadness out of the corner of his eyes. But it was gone before he could say anything about it. He _did _know her before, then, right? "Maybe we knew each other in past lives," was her answer.

Kaiba felt his chest clench. What kind of fucking answer was that? That vision of pharaohs and priests and monsters in stone tablets was merely a bad dream, right? But even if it was, how could this woman, someone from half way around the globe, have the same dream? "Spare me the tale of fate and fairy tales. Where do I really know you from?"

Kisara smiled a little. "You really don't remember, huh? It's okay. That stuff's not important anyway."

"How do you…know me, then?" he asked, struggling to find the words. "I don't know a thing about you, but you know all this stuff about me. How?"

"I'm a super crazy fangirl," she teased, sticking her tongue out. Kaiba rolled his eyes at her sarcastic answer. "Oh, what? You don't believe me? Yeah, I totally stalk you, I'm like your biggest fan, Kaiba-_shachou_! Kaiba-_shachou, _please marry me, make me the heiress to your fortune, I beg of you! Please, look my way, Kaiba-_shachou_, you are the sole reason I developed the Mini-K! It actually stands for Mini-_Kaiba_, because I'm so desperately obsessed with you!"

"You're stupid, shut up," he said, and she just laughed. "So you're not going to answer the question?"

"I guess I'm just really good at reading people," Kisara said with a shrug. She gestured to the upcoming off ramp. "Take this one." Kaiba did so, veering the car off to the right to take the exit.

Kaiba decided not to press further. Maybe it was just his imagination that he felt something strange between he and Kisara. It didn't matter now; the day was over and all these odd feelings would be washed out of his system the same way the sun scared the dark away in the sunrise. Kisara directed him through a series of turns, until asking him to stop in front of a low-end looking apartment complex.

"This is me," she said with a smile as they sat in the car in front of her building. "Thanks for taking me home, Kaiba-_shachou_."

But to her surprise, Kaiba swerved the car into a visitor's stall, killing the engine. He pushed open the door, stepping out as Kisara did the same. "You don't need to walk me up. I'm a big girl now," Kisara said, laughing.

"Unlikely," Kaiba told her. "Which one is yours?" There were three building arranged at right angles to each other, and Kisara pointed to the one in front of them. Kaiba noticed an electric blue motorcycle sitting in one of the parking stalls, and wondered if that was hers.

"This one," she said, adjusting her heels before heading towards the building. Kaiba followed, clicking the lock on his car keys to set the alarm for his car.

"Why do you live in such a run down area?" Kaiba asked, glancing around.

"Oh, well, I don't know, I bought like, the first place that was leasing," she said with a shrug. "I thought living in the city would be more expensive, but I definitely can't handle living in this part of town alone so I definitely can't afford anything in the center of Domino. We'll see, though. I'm going to try apartment hunt this weekend."

"Good," Kaiba said, and shortly afterwards, wondered why he even cared where she was living. They walked up two flights of shaking stairs, Kisara's heels clicking noisily against the hollow metal.

"You better not look up my dress," she teased, folding her hands over the back of her dress as she walked.

"I would rather gouge my eyes out," Kaiba assured her, only receiving a fit of little giggles in response.

"Well, this is mine," she said again, pointing to the door, apartment number G306. She pulled out the keys from her bag, and turned to face Kaiba, but didn't really look at him. Instead, she ran her slender fingers along themselves, as well as felt the jagged edge of the keys. "I wasn't…making a joke when I said I had fun, you know. Because I really did. Did you, ah, enjoy yourself as well?" she asked, and at this, turned her blue eyes up to Seto's.

He, in return, averted his eyes slightly. "I did," he said quietly.

In the darkness, Kisara's smile glowed brightly. "Really? I'm so glad," she said, sounding relieved. "I know this was a one time thing and everything, but I'd really, um, like to do it again sometime. Maybe not at such a fancy place, but you know, just us hanging out, if you have time, a one time thing at a, ah, different place."

She expected him to say no and reply with something snarky. She was good at countering his sarcastic remarks and tried to think of something now, anything to comeback at what he would say. "Sure."

Kisara could only stare, surprised. Kaiba surprised himself as well. What the hell was he doing? He would never have the time to do these kinds of things ever again! "Really? Ah, okay, then, that sounds great," she said, smiling. "I'll see you tomorrow at work. Thank you again for dinner, and for taking me home. I really appreciate it, Kaiba-_shachou._ Good night." Kisara turned, pushing her keys into the lock.

Wait, was Kaiba supposed to kiss her? Was this the time for a good night kiss? Well, _yes_, since she did say goodnight, but Kaiba wasn't going to kiss her. What would she think if he just reached over and kissed her? He didn't even know her and these weird feelings would be gone in the morning and from the kiss would stem all these complications and Kaiba didn't have time to invest in anything besides his business.

But dammit, he hated admitting that he had actually had a good time out with her tonight. She was quirky and liked Duel Monsters, and stayed up all last night preparing a game for them to play in the empty coffee shop after hours that she could get fired from if anyone found out. She had thrown a lot on the line for him tonight – all for one little dinner that he hadn't even properly asked her to. She deserved that kiss, right?

Kaiba grabbed Kisara's wrist as she pushed open the door. "Wait," he said, his body moving faster than his mind.

"What's up?" she asked, blinking several times and sounding confused. She reached in a little further into her house, flicking on the light.

Kaiba clenched his jaw. Damn her for being so cute and damn her for being so thoughtful and treating Kaiba like…a human being. His other hand balled into a fist as he fought against himself, and he took a deep breath. One part of him screamed for him to go for it, while the other tried to push him back with logic.

"Nothing," Kaiba said, releasing her and exhaling. The logical side of him had, thankfully, won. He would have regretted the kiss, right? "Nine tomorrow, don't be late."

Kisara laughed, nodding. "Yeah, don't worry about me, I'm always on time. I drive an awesome bike, remember?" she said, her playful demeanor returning. "Goodnight, Kaiba-_shachou_."

Kaiba could only stand there like a statue as she crossed the threshold into the house and closed the door with a dull click. A wave of…something washed over him, nearly knocking him off his feet. Was this—regret? He thought he would regret kissing her but now that he had not done it, he regretted that more. He would probably never get that chance ever again. He sighed, for the first time, not at Kisara, but in disappointment at himself. "Goodnight."


	7. Chapter 7: Shiro

"Your meeting ran pretty late last night," Mokuba said the next morning as his brother appeared in the living room. The elder Kaiba hadn't tucked in his shirt yet or fixed his tie properly, or even had his coat on.

Kaiba rubbed his neck, exhaling. "Yes, it did. Sorry. Did I wake you?"

Mokuba shook his head, scooping a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "Nah, you only came back in at two in the morning on a school night."

"You're quite the jokester," Kaiba said, heading into the kitchen as Mokuba laughed. He stuck two slices of bread into the toaster, and opened the fridge. He didn't seem to be looking for anything in particular, however – rather he looked like he was just trying to look natural or something of the sort.

"You okay?" Mokuba asked, furrowing his brows. His brother looked uneasy.

"Yeah, sorry," he said again, leaning against the counter and shaking his head.

"Work's been hard?"

Kaiba scoffed a little. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." He exhaled again. "I hired a new programmer, and we started working on a new project, and this…_programmer_ is driving me crazy." Kaiba thought that maybe sleeping off that weird feeling would make it disappear, but in the morning, he still felt the same. He should have kissed Kisara last night. Did she know that he was going to kiss her? Was today going to be awkward? Dammit, Kaiba hated himself for letting this get out of control.

Mokuba laughed. "I'm sure he's smart though. Don't worry _Nii-sama_, you'll be fine."

"You should come in later and check out the new project," Kaiba suggested, as the bread popped from the toaster. "After school, maybe, if you're not hanging out with Yugi and his circus-clown friends."

The raven-haired boy chuckled. "Sure, I'll come by after class. It's been a while since I've been at Kaiba Corp; I'm sorry _Nii-sama_. I'll try to come in more and help out."

"It's fine," Kaiba said, surprising his brother. "You're a college student and I understand that you are busy, and I know you're going to be trying out for sports. Enjoy your life in school because afterwards, the only thing you're going to be doing is work."

"Oh," Mokuba said, turning to his cereal. "Okay. Thanks, _Nii-sama_. I'll be sure to come in today to see your new project though. What's it called?"

Kaiba sighed deeply, taking his toast to the couch and sitting next to Mokuba. "The Mini-K."

Mokuba actually choked on his cereal laughing, receiving a look from his brother. "Mini-K?"

"Exactly what I said," he mumbled, shaking his head again. "Just come by after class, I want you to, ah, meet my new lead programmer." He wondered if it was a good idea for Kisara to meet Mokuba. Sure, she was older than Mokuba, but Kaiba also knew that his younger brother was a sweet kid and Mokuba and Kisara were more alike than himself and Kisara. Mokuba was smart and more sociable than him and had the 'cute' factor on his side, whereas Kaiba was as cold as the arctic. She would definitely like Mokuba much more than Kaiba and maybe – maybe she might treat Kaiba differently upon seeing how sweet Mokuba was. Kisara might…treat Kaiba the way everyone else did.

But it was too late to retract the invitation, as Mokuba just nodded. "Yeah, sure. I end class at around two today, so I'll come by after that."

"That sounds fine," Kaiba said. He took a bite from the toast and suddenly didn't feel that hungry anymore. "Come on, let's go," he said, placing the plate down on the coffee table upon noticing that Mokuba was finished with his cereal. He stood up, grabbing his coat from his room and fixing his tie.

Mokuba had already slung his bag over his shoulders and kicked on his sneakers, ready to go. He flashed his brother a smile and the two of them exited the penthouse, heading down to their car. "So, um, _Nii-sama_, I, ah, met a girl," Mokuba started quietly, wringing his hands together.

Oh, _God_. Kaiba did _not _want to have this talk with Mokuba now. Or, _ever_, even. Mokuba had other friends he could talk to about girls, right? Kaiba wouldn't know a thing about intimate relationships. "You do not need my permission to date, Mokuba."

"I know, I-I just, I don't know, wanted to tell you," Mokuba said, sounding embarrassed.

Kaiba took a deep breath. This was the first time Mokuba had mentioned a girl to him, maybe he should try talking to him about it, at least. "Okay," he said slowly as their car left the building. "What, ah, is her name?"

"I can't tell you that yet," Mokuba said immediately, looking panicked. Kaiba furrowed his brows. "I mean, I don't know, let's just, um, call her Shiro for now."

"Shiro," Kaiba said skeptically. Shiro meant 'white'. Mokuba seemed to squirm in his seat, so Kaiba just sighed again nodding and deciding to accept it. "Okay. What about…_Shiro_?"

"I don't know," Mokuba said, still wringing his hands. "She's really…pretty. And smart. And she's super funny and really sweet, and she's so good at video games."

"She sounds nice enough," Kaiba said. "Make sure that she likes you for the right reasons, Mokuba."

Mokuba waved his hands frantically. "Oh, no, it's not like that or anything. I don't _like _her, and she doesn't like me in that way. We're, um, friends from school. I think she's seeing someone else, actually."

"Mokuba," Kaiba sighed. "Do not disrespect her or the man she is seeing. It would look bad on you if you did so. I am sure that there are going to be many other girls for you to choose from later in life."

"I wasn't thinking of homewrecking or anything," Mokuba said. "Agh, I just have this terrible crush on her, it's nothing, but I don't know, I can't really talk to Yugi guys about it 'cause we're all friends and that'd be weird and they'd be trying to get us together when she has a boyfriend and everything. I'm sorry for talking a lot," he finished sheepishly, running a hand through his hair.

"It's fine," Kaiba said, taking Mokuba by surprise again. "Perhaps just wait. Either your crush will fade, or she will see the error of her ways and find a better man in you, Mokuba. Either way, the problem will be solved."

Mokuba chuckled a little. That sounded just like something his brother would say – always speaking logically. "Okay," he said, thinking that even though it was a typical Kaiba-answer, it was actually a pretty good one. Although, he was hoping for the latter of his statement. He wondered how her date went. "I think I'll try that."

"You don't need to take my advice," Kaiba said quietly. "I know nothing of relationships."

"Yeah, but I think that makes sense," Mokuba assured him as they pulled into the university. "Well, it's time for school now. Have a great day at work! Thanks for the talk, _Nii-sama_."

"Ah, sure," Kaiba said as his brother slid out of the car. Kaiba took a deep breath. He had no idea what was wrong with him. His little brother was having girl problems now? Kaiba sighed and shook his head for what felt like the thousandth time. He didn't have the energy to be worrying about girls his brother was going to see when he couldn't even figure out anything about the woman he _saw _last night.

Last night had honestly been the most fun the young CEO had in such a long time that no matter how much Kaiba tried to push it from his mind, it always resurfaced even stronger than before. He hated that she had been right – saying that she was fun company on a date – because she had definitely made the night fun what with her preparing a game of Duel Monsters for them. From the moment they had said goodnight at her doorstep until this moment, she was the only thing he was thinking of.

"Good morning, Kaiba-_shachou_!"

Kaiba looked up from his computer. Wait, what? He had been doing something on his computer? And he was in his office? He hadn't even realized that he had driven all the way to work and gone up to his office. It was already nine in the morning, wasn't it?

Kisara was standing there in a slim fitting white dress with sleeves that went down to her elbows, showing off her golden cuffs. There was a wide black woven belt around her waist and her hair was tied over her shoulder with a light pink flower clip in it. She looked cute, like she was going out for a lunch date.

"What the hell are you wearing?" he responded on reflex.

Kisara looked down at herself. "A dress."

"I thought I told you not to wear things like that anymore."

"And I thought I told _you _that I don't have any other suits. I wore like, a pair of slacks and an ugly-ass blouse yesterday. I felt like I was like, forty years old!" she said, tugging at her dress.

"Whatever, go do work already," Kaiba said, dismissing her with an exasperated sigh.

"Okay," she said cheerfully, and bowed. "Have a lovely day, Kaiba-_shachou_."

Kaiba ran a hand through his hair as the door closed behind her. She acted like nothing happened. Which he was a little thankful for, but what else had he been expecting? Had he been expecting her to be as anxious as he was? It wasn't fair that he was so worked up about her presence while she just frolicked along without a care in the world.

He stood up abruptly, pushing his chair back with the motion. What was she thinking? He needed to know, right now!

"What are you doing?" he demanded, coming up to her desk downstairs. The other works seemed to be mentally flailing, trying to look busy. Kisara looked up from her computer.

She pointed to the screen, puzzled. "Working?"

Kaiba didn't know what to do now. What the _fuck_ was he even doing leaving his office and coming downstairs to demand some sort of explanation from Kisara in front of everyone? What did he even want her to explain? If she was some sort of sorcerer that made his stomach in knots, and made his chest tight?

"Oh, wait, since I have you here," Kisara said, smiling. "I forgot to ask earlier, but we kind of need more programmers. You think we could hire some more?"

The entire room froze, Keiko and Izumi exchanging looks with each other. They hadn't actually thought that Kisara would seriously ask Kaiba to _hire _more people! It was like asking Santa to deliver presents in July – impossible. "Excuse me?" the CEO asked as though he hadn't heard.

"Yeah, I mean, once everything starts picking up, it's gonna be tough for all of us to work on this with such a small team," she explained, completely calm. "It'd be better for all of us – and you – if you hired more people, so we wouldn't be as tired, but you'd still get the same quality product."

Keiko and Izumi looked concerned. Kaiba was going to explode and kill everyone in the room, starting with Kisara. It was over. Kisara was going to die.

"Fine," Kaiba said. "You do the interviews, then. You can hire as many people as you need, just make sure they aren't jackasses because I _will_ fire them, and then I will fire _you_."

"Great, I think like, five or six more people would really make the work load a little easier for all of us," she said, smiling brightly as though completely oblivious to Kaiba's threat. "Thank you, Kaiba-_shachou_."

"Whatever," he responded, shaking his head. He turned on his heels to leave and then stopped for a moment. "My brother is coming later in the afternoon to meet you."

"Oh? Okay, that sounds nice," she said, sounding extremely cheerful. Kaiba couldn't help but feel a little annoyed in that moment. "I can't wait. Before lunch or after?"

"After. Around two thirty," Kaiba said, pushing open the door. "Don't make an ass of yourself in front of my brother."

"I never make an ass of myself," she teased, laughing. "Bye, Kaiba-_shachou_."

He left without another word, sweeping down the hall and storming up the staircase. Kisara smiled, getting back to her work on her computer. Keiko patted her on the head. "H-how is it that you're still alive? You asked him to _hire _more people, Kisara!"

"And I told you he'd understand," Kisara said triumphantly, smiling. "He's a really nice guy, you know."

"And what do you mean by 'before or after lunch'?" Keiko asked, pulling up a chair as though preparing to listen to campfire stories. "Do you and Kaiba have _lunch _together?"

"No," she lied. She thought that Kaiba might get upset if people started talking about them together. Kaiba didn't have time for most things and Kisara knew that he didn't have time for rumors. She didn't want to cause him any trouble. "Just, you know, I was asking if it was after my lunch break or before it."

Kisara decided not to talk about that any further. Keiko tried probing for more answers, but Kisara just gave her vague responses, laughing and waving off her co-worker. She wanted to stay on Kaiba's good side.

Last night, she thought that Kaiba was going to kiss her. She had struggled so hard to keep a straight face when he had grabbed her wrist so suddenly, as though he had forgotten to do or say something. But he had merely reminded her about work today – such a Kaiba-thing to do – and she honestly had to say that she was a little disappointed.

Still, though, seeing him play Duel Monsters, and hearing him say that they might go out again made her happy. It was enough. Her decision to come back to Japan hadn't been in vain. She never understood why she had been drawn to Kaiba, but she felt like she needed to be by his side, protecting him.

It sounded crazy, but she completely believed in it. Ever since she had been younger—

"Kisara, I think Kaiba sent up someone for you to interview," Izumi called, gesturing to the door. Kisara looked down at the clock to see that several hours had passed. She could see right through it, noticing a tall young man with dark hair pulled up into a tie with a vest pulled over his slender body.

"That was quick," she said to herself, getting up from her chair. She pushed open the door. "Hey, what's up?" she greeted, and the man seemed to be taken by surprise.

"Ah, _hajimemashite,_" he greeted politely. "I was told to look for lead programmer Kisara? My name's Otogi Ryuji."

"I'm Kisara," she said with a smile, showing him in. "Kaiba-_shachou _is really fast with business crap isn't he? I just asked him to hire more people a few hours ago."

"Actually, I already had an interview for today," he said, sitting down next to her. "I haven't really been doing much, and I'm really great at designing stuff, so I figured I'd get a part time job."

"Cool, well, consider yourself hired, then," Kisara said, smiling brightly.

"Woah, what?" Ryuji responded, holding his hands up. "You can interview me properly, you know. I'm sure there are a lot of other candidates looking for a job."

"I already kind of know you," she said, waving him off. "Creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters, right?"

Ryuji blinked several times. "Yeah, actually."

"I played the video game version of that. It was really fun. I heard you designed everything yourself and did program mounts and whatnot," she said with a smile. "I'm sure you'd make a great addition to our team."

"Wow," he said, running a hand through his hair. "Thanks so much. I'm flattered that a beautiful woman such as yourself has heard of me."

Kisara laughed a little. "It's nice that you would humble yourself and come work for Kaiba Corp even though you're already quite famous. I'll let Kaiba-_shachou _know and I'll take care of all the paper work and whatnot. I actually have my lunch break in a bit, so go and talk to that man over there, Izumi-_san_," Kisara said, gesturing to the person, "he'll give you a briefing on our new project, and you can play around with that for a little bit, and start on Monday. Does that sound okay?"

"That sounds fantastic," Ryuji said immediately. "Thanks, Kisara -_sama_."

"No problem," she said with a smile, and Ryuji got up from his seat to speak with Izumi. She got up herself, slinging on her bag and slipping out before anyone could ask where she was going.

Lunch was the same as usual. Kaiba wasn't downstairs waiting for her, so she took her bike to Tsuki's instead, seeing his Lexus parked in its usual spot. She ordered _edamame _and melon soda and asked if Kaiba wanted anything, to which he would respond with a prompt, "Absolutely not," and she would laugh and send the waiter off.

"What's your brother coming to Kaiba Corp for?" she asked, sipping from her melon soda.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Because he is my brother."

Kisara giggled a little. "Well, _duh_, I obviously know _that_, I'm not an idiot."

"Could have fooled me."

"Did you tell him about the Mini-K?"

"I told him that he should come by and take a look at our new _project_ that will _not _be called the Mini-K," Kaiba said as a matter-of-fact.

"Once he sees it and gets a chance to play, he'll be like, '_Nii-sama_, Mini-K is such a brilliant name for a device! I agree with Kisara, you should stop giving her crap about naming it that and embrace it!'" she teased.

"Unlikely," Kaiba told her, remembering how his brother had laughed at the name this morning. "_Your_ brother doesn't think it's a ridiculous name?"

"My brother's like, 'Yeah, totally, Kisa-_chan_, Mini-K is a brilliant name for a device! Tell that Kaiba-_shachou _to stop giving her crap about naming it that and embrace it!'"

"Hilarious," Kaiba said, his face emotionless.

She giggled again, taking another sip from her soda. "My brother's really busy. We webchat here and now, which is why I rush off whenever he calls, 'cause that's the only times he really gets to talk. He knows about my Mini-K, and totally supports me."

"As a brother should," Kaiba told her, turning his eyes back to his computer.

"You should meet my brother when he comes back."

"No."

"Yeah, never mind, my brother's so sweet, I don't think you two would get along," she joked, sticking out her tongue to once again, let Kaiba know she was just jesting. "Really though. I'm not sure when he comes back; he's traveling right now, but when he does, promise you'll come meet him?"

"No."

"Aw, come on!" she urged, laughing. "He's nice. And smart. And he's like, tall, and handsome, and super nice—"

"Are you trying to set me up with your brother?" Kaiba growled, and Kisara laughed.

"Maybe." Kisara winked playfully. "I like boy's-love romances sometimes."

"You're a disgusting human being."

Kisara just laughed in response, popping a soybean in her mouth. "I hired someone today, by the way."

"I assume it was that Otogi kid that came in," he said with a scowl. "He is a good game designer, and very good with computers, it's just that he…is friends with people I hate."

"He's good, though, and that's all we need, right? He seems really nice and everything, too," she said with a smile. "He's cute. I like him."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes at that, but forced himself to stay focused on his computer. He had no right to be jealous. "Look for the rest of the extension for your team yourself. Set up interviews for Monday and Wednesday. I would prefer a game designer working with us, which was why I sent Otogi up, but as for the rest, profile them and give the potential candidates to me."

"Yes, sir," she said with a determined nod, and Kaiba rolled his eyes. Her phone went off, and Kisara dove into her bag, flipping open the tiny device. "_Moshi moshi_," she greeted, so Kaiba assumed that it wasn't her brother. "Eeeh? Okay, I'll be there. Sorry, I totally forgot. I'll be there in a little while, okay? Thanks!"

She snapped her phone shut and glanced at Kaiba sheepishly. His eyes flicked from the computer to her face. "What?"

"The university just called. Apparently there's meeting today for all the computer science majors and whanot – my professor just called to see where I am because it starts in a little bit. I'm not sure how long it will last, so I'm not sure if I can meet your brother today," she explained, gathering her things. She placed some money on the table for her food. "Please tell him that I'm sorry. The Mini-K is with Izumi-_san, _and you can take it home this weekend to keep it safe. I'll see you on Monday."

"Fine," Kaiba said as she slid out of the booth.

"Have a lovely weekend, Kaiba-_shachou_," she added with a little bow before dashing off. Kaiba hated that he felt a little relieved, but decided not to share that with anyone, ever.


	8. Chapter 8: Goodnight, Seto

Kaiba was tired. It was Tuesday, which meant that Kisara didn't work today. He had seen her at lunch again, however, but she had left early, saying she had something to do. Kaiba hated that he wondered what it was she had to do after she finished school. He wondered if she had a boyfriend or something.

Not that he _cared _or anything.

He checked his watch. It was around four thirty and there wasn't really much to do, as he finished work a little later on Tuesdays and Thursdays, coming home around seven. He didn't feel like staying late, though and pressed a button on the intercom. "Isono, I'm going to be leaving early today. Forward any calls to the machine."

"Yes, Kaiba-_sama_," came the obedient reply, and Kaiba stood up, grabbing his briefcase. It would be a good idea to go home and relax for two seconds before he had to get ready for their little dinner tonight.

He swept from his office and headed to his car. Mokuba said he had tutoring on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so maybe it was a good idea to meet his tutor as well. Isono hadn't said anything about Mokuba asking for help to find a tutor like he said he would, so Kaiba could only assume that Mokuba found one on his own. Kaiba highly doubted that this tutor would be much help if he wasn't an actual teacher, but he would see so with his own eyes and tell Mokuba about it.

"_Nii-sama_!" Mokuba cried when Kaiba opened the door to his house. Kaiba furrowed his brows at his brother's panicked reaction.

"_Tadaima. _Why are you so surprised?"

"Why are you home?" he asked, standing up and closing all his books.

"I finished work early," Kaiba told him, seting his briefcase down and shrugging off his coat. He tossed the material onto the couch. "I thought you had tutoring today?"

"Um, I do," Mokuba said, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, where is he, then?" Kaiba asked, getting a little impatient. "Do not tell me that you have bee lying about tutoring, Mokuba."

"I haven't!" Mokuba defended. "I just—"

"Eeeeh, Mokuba-_san_, your bathroom is so nice," said a voice, and Kaiba looked up to see a silver haired woman emerging from the hallway. She seemed a little surprised, but flashed Kaiba a smile. "_Okairinasai_, Kaiba-_shachou_."

"What the fuck are you doing in my house?" he demanded on reflex.

"Hmm? I'm Mokuba-_san_'s tutor," she said, confused, sitting down next to Mokuba on the floor. "Why'd you close all the books?"

"Mokuba," Kaiba snapped. "What is she doing in our house?"

"Y-you know her?" Mokuba responded, surprised.

"Oh, yes, I'm Kaiba-_shachou'_s biggest fangirl," Kisara said, obviously joking.

"_What are you doing in my house_?" Kaiba repeated.

"Waiting for your glorious return," she teased, sticking her tongue out.

"Don't test me, woman," he warned, his voice lowering.

"I just said I was Mokuba's tutor, silly bean," she said, waving him off. "We've been coming here every Tuesday and Thursday for the past like, two months."

"_Two months_? Mokuba, you have been bringing home this woman for _two months_?" Kaiba said, struggling to keep his composure. He turned back to Kisara and glowered at her. "Why didn't you tell me you were his tutor?"

"You never asked," she said, opening all of her books again.

"You know her, _Nii-sama_?" Mokuba asked again.

"Unfortunately," Kaiba responded. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and rubbing his temples as though struggling to focus.

"She's really smart, _Nii-sama_," Mokuba assured his brother. "Kisara has been helping me a lot – I've been doing really well in my classes because of her."

"I do not doubt that she is intelligent book wise," Kaiba responded. "But as for everything else, I highly doubt that she is suitable for being your home tutor."

"Aw, but I'm plenty smart, Kaiba-_shachou_," Kisara said, grinning. "Are you jealous that I'm hanging out with Mokuba?"

"That's definitely not the case," Kaiba said, though he was unsure if he was telling Kisara that, or merely reminding himself.

"H-how do you know Kisara?" Mokuba asked. He was confused as to how friendly Kisara acted towards his elder brother, and even more confused as to why Kaiba wasn't screaming his head off at her. Normally he would have found her behavior disrespectful but he didn't seem to be making a big fuss about it.

"I told you already, Mokuba -_san_, I'm Kaiba-_shachou_'s biggest, craziest fangirl," Kisara continued to tease, giggling to herself. She clutched her chest in feigned agony, rolling on the floor. "Ooooh, Kaiba-_shachou_, please loooooove me! I need your undivided attention, Kaiba-_shachoooooou_!"

"See, Mokuba? There is nothing but air in this woman's head," Kaiba said, crossing his arms over his chest. Kisara laughed, sitting up.

"Oh, relax, Kaiba-_shachou,_" she said, waving him off. "I've been a good tutor. I _am _a genius, you know. Super computer genius Kisara!"

"Shut up," Kaiba groaned, grabbing his coat and throwing it at her, only to have her dissolve into a fit of giggles. "And for your information, I _did _ask where you were going. You gave a vague, stupid answer. I would have liked to know that you were running off to _my house _to meet _my brother _twice a week."

"But you see, if I did tell you, you would have reacted like a crazy person," she reasoned. "Therefore I didn't want to tell you. Besides, I thought Mokuba -_san _would have told you."

Kaiba turned his ice cold eyes to his younger brother. "Yes, Mokuba, why _didn't _you tell me?" But as soon as the question rolled off his tongue, Kaiba saw his brother fidget and realized why he had hid Kisara from him. The last thing he wanted to do was make his younger brother feel awkward, so as Mokuba started to try to make up some excuse, Kaiba interrupted him. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. As long as you're doing fine in school then I don't care. You," he said, turning to Kisara, "do _not _lead my brother astray. Make sure he does his school work, even when he starts training for track."

"Yes, sir," she agreed, giving him a salute. She patted the seat next to her. "Come on, kiddo, we still got more work to do."

Mokuba nodded, inching his way towards Kisara as Kaiba retreated into his room. He told himself it was because he didn't want to see Kisara but perhaps the truth was that he didn't want to see Kisara with _Mokuba_. He hated feeling this way about his brother, but Mokuba was a sweet kid and there was no reason that a nice woman like Kisara wouldn't like him.

He laid back on his four poster bed, his body sinking into the mattress. His frustration with these odd feelings for Kisara was becoming too much. Kaiba closed his eyes. Maybe a nap would do him some justice.

* * *

><p><em>"Hey, cut it out," cried a little voice, and a small brunette turned his head up to see a group of kids huddled around in a circle, laughing while calls of distress wavered out from the middle of them. "I said cut it out!"<em>

_ "Why should I, freak?" taunted a boy, shoving his victim roughly into a friend, who shoved so hard the smaller figure fell to the ground. "You're so funny looking, you look like a ghost!"_

_ "I do not!" retorted the voice. _

_ "You totally do," the first boy said, slamming his foot into the figure's side. "You look like one but you can actually be hit! That's funny, my foot was supposed to have gone through you!"_

_ "That's 'cause I'm not a ghost, idiot," the little figure said, pushing off the ground. With a loud thump, however, she – Seto was certain by her high pitched voice, that the victim was, indeed, a young girl – was thrown back to the ground._

_ "Hey," Seto called, pushing his way through them. He grabbed the girl's hand, pulling her up and pushing her behind him as though protecting her, the other boys forming a half circle around him. "Leave her alone!"_

_ The boys laughed amongst each other. "Oh, lookie lookie, ghost girl has a boyfriend!" one of them teased, shoving Seto's shoulder. The younger boy stood, unwavering, merely glowering at the bullies. _

_ "Leave her alone."_

_ "And if we don't?"_

_ With all his might, Seto balled his fist and slammed it into the other boy's face as hard as he could, ignoring the pain shooting up his hand with the impact. The bully dropped instantly, and Seto was paid back with an elbow in the face from another boy. Seto kicked him off, clutching onto the girl's hand. "Come on," he told her, forcing his legs to move as he swerved out of the trap, the girl following behind._

_ "Let's get 'em!" the kids called, and Seto could hear their footsteps as they chased after he and the younger girl. He glanced back, seeing that she had long silver hair and the pasty white skin, her eyes like the ocean in her face. How could they say she was ghost-like? Seto thought she was pretty cute._

_ Seto shook the thought from his head – now was not the time to be thinking like that! "In here!" he told her, sliding into an alley. He pulled the girl against him and felt her tiny arms wrap around him as they tried to blend into the shadows. He lifted his head away, glad for the darkness, otherwise she could see him blushing._

_ Footsteps stormed by, and Seto waited for them to fade away. "Hold on," he told her quietly, peering out from behind the alley. The boys had rounded the corner and were running away from them now. Seto let out a breath of relief, pulling the girl gently from the alley._

_ He expected to see tears on her face after being bullied so mercilessly, but she just smiled brightly, and Seto felt his entire face heat up. "Thank you so much," she said, brushing the hair from her face. "No one's ever stood up for me like that. Thank you."_

_ Seto scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah, uh, it was no problem," he said._

_ "Are you okay?" she asked, pressing her small fingers into his face where he could feel a bruise forming from being elbowed. _

_ She was the one being pushed around, and yet she was the one asking if _he _was okay? "Ah, yeah, that's nothing. Can I, um, walk you home or something? Aren't your parents worried?"_

_ She shook her head. "Nope, I don't have parents," she responded with a smile on her face. "I'm from the orphanage down the road."_

_ Seto blinked several times. "Yeah, me, too."_

_ "Oh really?" she asked, excitedly. Seto was completely aware that she was still holding onto his hands and turned his face away, flushing. "Yesterday was my first day, actually. The hospital released me to them last night, so I didn't really get to meet anyone. We can go back together."_

_ "Oh, uh, okay," Seto responded, turning to head down the street. He had been heading back from school when he just so happened to run into this girl being bullied. "By the way," he added, "my name's Seto. What's yours?"_

_ The girl looked up and him and smiled, her face filled with light. "Kisara."_

* * *

><p>Kaiba bolted awake, breathing hard.<p>

He threw his legs over the side of the bed, running a hand through his chocolate colored hair. He knew Kisara. He knew her from when they were kids – she wasn't from some crazy nightmare of pharaohs and ancient Egypt. She was a real person from his real life that he had just…forgotten.

Kaiba threw open the door and headed back into the living room. Kisara had packed all of her things and was saying goodbye to Mokuba. "Where are you going?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Kisara tuned to see him, and grinned. "I have a date tonight."

"I see," was all Kaiba could say.

"Yup, so I gotta go home and get ready since I have to catch the subway back. See you later, Kaiba-_shachou_," she said with a polite bow. "Bye, Mokuba-_san_, study hard!"

"I will, thanks Kisara," he said with a smile, closing the door behind her. He turned back to see his brother staring at him. "Look, _Nii-sama_—"

"You don't need to explain anything to me," Kaiba interrupted. If he recalled correctly, years ago, when at the orphanage, Mokuba had a crush on Kisara then, too. Even if he didn't remember her now, perhaps those feelings unknowingly carried over through time. He glanced up at the time. It was almost six thirty – he had been sleeping for nearly two hours. Kaiba started to head back to his room. "I'm going to shower."

"Okay. Did you want me to start cooking? I was thinking of instant noodles; I'm a little tired," Mokuba said, exhaling a little and running a hand through his hair.

"You can cook for yourself," Kaiba told him, unbuttoning his shirt as he headed back towards his room.

"Okay," Mokuba called, blinking a few times. His brother had been acting a little oddly since he'd come home. Not _weird _in the sense where he was suddenly spouting butterflies and rainbows or anything, but it was just that he seemed…softer. All these years, Kaiba had been scarred by the life of a businessman and Mokuba worried that he would lose his brother to the darkness of that life.

However, Mokuba had seen a glimpse of light in his brother today. It was just a glimpse, like the glimmer of the dim glow of a hall light from the crack in the door, but it was still light nonetheless. Mokuba saw the Seto that he had known all his life – the same one that disappeared over ten years ago upon ripping Kaiba Corporations away from Kaiba Gozaburo.

Mokuba pulled out a bowl of instant ramen from the pantry. Kaiba insisted that Mokuba not eat those things, but Mokuba always thought they were delicious, so Kaiba bought them anyway. He set water in a pot over the stove, unwrapping the plastic from the bowl. Mokuba felt like…he knew Kisara from somewhere. He felt drawn to her and didn't even really understand why.

When Kaiba came back into the room, Mokuba was surprised to see his brother dressed in a simple cotton shirt and jeans. He tossed a sport coat onto the couch, flicking water from his damp hair as he turned on the television to the news, watching the stocks roll across the screen.

"Uh, _Nii-sama_, are you going out?" Mokuba asked, pouring the boiling water into the bowl of dry noodles.

"I have a meeting with a business partner," he told Mokuba, not taking his eyes off the television. "It's a casual get together."

"Oh," Mokuba said, blinking. He _never _saw his brother dressed very casually. Kaiba had a closet of suits – Mokuba didn't even know that his brother owned jeans or shirts that weren't collared.

"Don't wait up, it might end late. I'll try not to make noise when I come home since it's a school night," he said, leaning back into the couch with an exasperated sigh.

"It's fine, you know I was just joking back then," Mokuba said with a chuckle. "By the way, that Mini-K thing the new programmer designed was really great. We should have like a demo event for it or something, you know, invite a bunch of people for kind of a game night to try out the new thing and get everyone excited for the release next year."

Kaiba seemed to think about it for a while before nodding slowly. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Are you too busy to plan it, or shall I?"

"I can do it," Mokuba said with a smile as his brother glanced at the clock. Kaiba sat up, and shrugged on his coat. He grabbed his keys and his wallet, stuffing them into his pocket. He was about to leave, but seemed to forget his briefcase, picking it up off the ground. "I can invite Yugi guys, and a couple of other people from the other headquarters. Of course everyone at the Kaiba Corp headquarters here would be invited, right?"

"Sure," Kaiba said absently as he opened the door.

Mokuba pulled out a list of the workers from a binder on the counter. He glanced through the list, taking a note of familiar names. "I'll make formal invitations for everyone, it'll be fun. Yugi guys can probably help out, too. It'll be in a couple of weeks." He noticed that the list hadn't been updated in a while, so the lead programmer's name was missing. Of course the lead programmer needed to be there; he created the project! "What's the name of your lead programmer?"

Kaiba paused at the door. "Shiro."

* * *

><p>"Why is it that you are always on time for work but when it comes for these sorts of things, you are always late?" Kaiba snapped, narrowing his eyes at the woman sitting across from him.<p>

"Because I'm not on my motorcycle, duh," she said as though he was supposed to know this. She was dressed in frayed skinny jeans and a white loose sheen tank top with a seamless black camisole under it. Of course, she had on her gold cuffs and was carrying the designer bag her elder brother had bought for her. "Also, wouldn't you rather have me on time for work? I have to catch the subway and walk everywhere else."

"Well, plan for time beforehand," he retorted.

"Relax, it's like eight o' two. I'm here, aren't I?" she laughed.

"Unfortunately."

"You said 'yes' wrong," she teased. "You know I thought you forgot."

"Unlike you, my brain is able to carry more than just twenty four hours worth of information."

"Ooh, ouch, my feelings are hurt," she said, sipping from her melon soda. She lifted the bottle, making a face. "That other restaurant we went to had much better melon soda. This bottled stuff is okay, though, I'm not complaining."

Kisara and Kaiba were sitting in a bistro somewhere in Domino, a glass of super dry beer in front of Kaiba, and Kisara with her normal melon soda. She took another sip and smiled. "How is work, Kaiba-_shachou_?"

"Why do you call me that?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"Hmm?" Kisara tilted her head in confusion. "Well, your name _is _Kaiba, and you _are _the president of the company I work for. Kaiba-_shachou _only makes sense, right? Would you rather just 'Kaiba-_sama_'?"

"Never mind," he said. "Work is the same."

Kisara grinned, forgetting all about his sudden outburst. "Super fun?"

"The opposite."

"Un-super Un-fun?"

"How you are a 'genius' is completely beyond me."

"Feelings hurt."

"Caring less."

Kisara giggled. "You're funny," she told him. "Sorry I never told you about Mokuba and everything. I thought you'd get mad. Which, I mean, I guess you did. But I can ask one of my other classmates to tutor him instead if you're that uncomfortable with it."

"I told you it was fine," Kaiba said. He paused for a moment. "My brother does not want to go into business, does he?"

Kisara smiled gently. "I don't think so."

"I figured that was why he probably asked you to be his tutor. He wouldn't need a programming tutor if he was planning on being a businessman. I don't understand why he has been trying to hide this from me."

"I think he was just afraid to tell you."

"Since when should my own brother be afraid to tell me something?" Kaiba asked, seriously wondering. He realized he had said the question aloud, and shook his head. "Never mind."

"No," she said, folding her hands over the table. "I dunno, maybe you've just been busy, is all. He doesn't want to burden you with the thoughts from a teenage mind, since you're a hotshot CEO."

"I always have time for Mokuba."

"Maybe he doesn't feel that way," Kisara suggested gently. "Maybe you should just hang out with him and remind him that he can talk to you. I'm sure he's tried to, right?"

Kaiba recalled the brief conversation that Mokuba had tried to have with him in the car about "Shiro". Now, he was completely aware who Mokuba had a crush on. However, he wasn't sure if he was alright with it. "I suppose."

"Yeah, so like, be supportive, you know. Encourage him! Let him know that _Nii-sama _still cares."

"It should be understood that I care for Mokuba," Kaiba responded. He wasn't sure if he could encourage Mokuba to pursue a woman four years his senior, let alone a woman he was out on…_something _with. A date? No,t hey were merely having dinner together. Again. Was that a date?

"I know," Kisara said with a shrug. "You should just hang out with him, is all."

"I don't need advice from you."

"Okay," she responded simply, shrugging. She called a waiter over, ordering a Panini. Kaiba did the same, mimicking her order. He had no idea what to order; he had never been to this place before, she had just given him directions earlier today. "I just think you should spend more time with Mokuba-_san_. I would give anything to see my _Nii-sama_, but he's too busy."

Kaiba didn't remember her coming to the orphanage with a sibling. But then again, he had forgotten her completely, so perhaps there had been a relative of hers there. "You and your brother are close, though."

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "_Nii-sama _takes care of me, even when he's away."

Kaiba paused for a moment, taking a sip from his drink. "That's very nice of him. I hope you have not been asking him for too much."

Kisara shook her head. "Nope, I never really ask him for anything. I went apartment hunting, but it didn't work out. I think I should probably find roommates or something."

"That would be smart."

"I know," she agreed with a grin. "I'm a genius, remember?"

"No."

"So, what'd you tell Mokuba-_san_?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You had to tell him something to come out with me tonight, right?" she asked, still smiling. "He told me he makes dinner for his beloved _Nii-sama _all the time."

"I said I had a business meeting."

"You're a liar," she teased, giggling as the food was brought to the table. She glanced down a the briefcase on the floor. "You really told him that? You even brought your little briefcase! You're such a liar."

"How is that a lie?" Kaiba asked, narrowing his eyes. "We are co-workers, and we are meeting."

Kisara giggled, shaking her head. "Why don't you just tell Mokuba-_san _you're on a date with the smartest, amazing-est, most awesome-est computer programmer in all the land?"

"First of all, we are not on a date. And second of all, that stream of grade-school-worthy adjectives does _not _describe you," Kaiba responded flatly.

"We are totally on a date."

"You're delusional."

Kisara smiled. "You look nice tonight."

"You are probably the most repulsive woman I have ever met."

"Lies," she said, laughing as she took a bite from her sandwich. She continued to speak even though she had food in her mouth. "Liiiiies!"

"You're also the most annoying."

"You are."

"Your comebacks are also grade-school-worthy."

"So are you," she said, swallowing her food with a grin.

"I'm pretty sure I hate you."

"You said 'love' wrong," she teased with more laughter and Kaiba rolled his eyes. He lifted his Panini, taking a bite. "Oh, by the way, what'd Mokuba-_san_ think of the Mini-K?"

"He thought it was a ridiculous name."

"Now that's a lie."

"He wants to host a galla."

Kisara's eyes widened and her voice jumped up an octave. "What? Really?"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, not particularly sure what the fuss was about. "Yes, a demonstration. He proposes that it would be a good marketing strategy, to excite people about our upcoming product."

"Am I invited?" Kisara asked.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "No, as the lead programmer I expect you to be working on the night of your invention's debut," he told her sarcastically. "Yes, you are invited, idiot."

"Oh, so the party's basically for me."

"It's a demonstration event for your gaming _computer_," Kaiba corrected. "_Not_ for you."

"Will there be mini-hamburgers?" she asked, ignoring him. She was grinning widely. "And mini-tacos? Mini-cakes? Along with other miniature food items to also promote the Mini-K?"

"No," Kaiba said, scowling at her.

"But shouldn't there be mini-things at demos? Like finger food stuff."

"I'm not planning it, Mokuba is."

"Can you ask him if he can get mini-hamburgers?" she asked with a sweet smile.

"Why don't you ask him yourself? Apparently, you two have been seeing each other twice a week without my knowledge," Kaiba snapped before even realizing what he was saying.

Kisara was smiling while chewing on her food. "It's okay to be jealous," she said slowly. "We're human, we all feel jealous sometimes."

"That is absolutely not the case," Kaiba snapped.

Kisara took another bite of her sandwich before speaking again. "I'll just let Mokuba-_san_ do the planning, then. I won't ask. It's not a party for me, right?"

Kaiba clenched his jaw, breathing in deeply through his nose. Infuriating. The woman was infuriating and he hated feeling this way about…no, not about _her_. Just in _general_. He hated feeling helpless.

"Anyway, that nice kid Ryuji-_san _started yesterday," Kisara said with a smile.

Kaiba didn't respond, instead, taking a bite from his sandwich. It was actually quite good, the flavors all melting together into one, sliding down his throat with ease. The beer was a nice touch as well.

"He's very smart, and charming. He asked me if I wanted to have lunch."

Kaiba kept his face emotionless. "I'm not stopping you."

"I know," she said, laughing. "I just told him I have prior arrangements. And he was like, 'what? Everyday?' and I was like, 'yes, everyday with Kaiba-_shachou_."

"And what did he say?" Kaiba challenged, taking her up on the bluff.

"He was like, 'whaaaat, Kaiba-_shachou_? He's hot, I'd hit that,'" she teased back, sticking her tongue out to have Kaiba roll his eyes at her.

"You're annoying."

"_You're _annoying."

"We both know that's not true."

Kisara giggled again, Kaiba already used to the sound. It was sweet actually, like the sound of wind chimes in the late summer breeze. "Are you done?" she asked, gesturing to his empty plate.

Kaiba lifted the beer glass to his lips, tipping it back and finishing it. "Now I am."

"Beer is gross," she said, taking the check and placing money inside. It was her turn to pay tonight, and she did so without complaining, as her first check came in yesterday.

"Melon soda is disgusting."

"Melon soda is the best."

"Delusional," Kaiba responded as Kisara followed him to the car. She bowed politely.

"Thanks for joining me for dinner, Kaiba-_shachou_," she said, smiling. "The subway's just down there, I didn't take my bike tonight. I'll see you for work tomorrow, nine sharp." She bowed again, turning towards the direction of the subway.

Kaiba let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. He couldn't believe he was doing this again. "Get in the car."

"What?" she asked, furrowing her brows. "I thought that was a one-time thing?"

"Get in before I change my mind," he growled, sliding into the driver's seat. Kisara happily obliged, sitting in with him and glancing around like a child in a candy store. She always seemed so amused with his car. "Do you have your driver's license?"

Kisara grinned sheepishly. "Well, car licenses are more expensive than motorcycle licenses. So, no, I don't have one in Japan. But I had one in California."

"So why are you so deeply fascinated by my car?" he asked, starting the Lexus.

She shrugged. "It's nice. I drove an old Ford that my roommate's dad didn't need any more, so it didn't run that great. Died on me a lot and I didn't really need the space, or care for the mileage. That's why my brother bought me a bike."

"I would _never _let Mokuba ride a motorcycle."

Kisara laughed. "Yeah, I had to beg _Nii-sama _for the bike. It was like a graduation gift. He said he would have rather bought me a car, but I've always wanted a bike."

"Your brother does a lot for you."

Kisara nodded. "I really love him."

Kaiba clenched his jaw at that. When was the last time Mokuba had even said those words of affection to him? It had seemed like ages, Kaiba couldn't even recall the last time he and Mokuba really spent time together. Things were not as simple as during Battle City, where Mokuba could follow around his elder brother. No, Kaiba had a much harder life now. Had he-had he pushed Mokuba away as not to bring the younger boy into this mess that was the life of a businessman? Had Kaiba subconsciously been indirectly telling his brother not to choose the same path he walked?

"Do you remember where I live?" Kisara asked quietly, as though she could tell that Kaiba was lingering on her words about her brother.

"Like I said, my brain has enough capacity to remember things for more than twenty-four hours," he responded dryly.

"Coolio," she said in English, smiling. She added the next sentence in English as well, "I'm glad you remember even though I live in a really crappy area."

"Why do you speak that way?" Kaiba asked. Kisara tilted her head in confusion. "I noticed your accent the first time you spoke in English. Did you not live in California for four years?"

"Oh, I did," she said, nodding. "I was born and I went to grade school in Japan, I went to high school in Australia – where I learned a lot of my English – and I moved to California for school after I graduated. My parents really love to travel. We had a family vacation in Korea a few years ago, too. I've also been to Egypt."

"I see," Kaiba said, for a moment doubting that his dream had even really been real. She said she had siblings, and parents – was she really that girl from the orphanage? Was that memory even real? No, once Kaiba had awoke, he knew that had indeed, been real. That young silver haired girl had to be the same person sitting in his car now, right?

"Thanks for driving me home again," Kisara said as Kaiba pulled up to her apartment complex. He hadn't even realized that he had driven there. From driving to her house one time, he was able to navigate there again as though on autopilot. Once again, Kaiba veered the car into the visitor lot, never thinking that this same instance would occur again. And within less than a week, at that! "You don't need to walk me—"

"I am already out of the car," Kaiba said as he pushed the door open. Kisara did the same on her side and lead him up the building again. She bowed politely at the door.

"Thank you for coming out with me tonight. I'm sorry it wasn't as great as last time, but thanks anyway. I'll see you tomorrow, Kaiba-_shachou_."

"Why do you call me that?" Kaiba asked again, his voice low. "You obviously know me. Why do you address me so politely?"

Kisara blinked several times, seeming confused and for a split second, Kaiba felt a wave of doubt. "I thought it was only right," she said quietly. "You don't remember me anyway."

"I do," he said and she looked up, seeming surprised. She stayed silent, waiting for him to continue. "I do…remember you. From the orphanage. I…saved you, didn't I?"

Kaiba seemed to be waiting an eternity before a smile broke out on Kisara's face. She nodded. "You did."

"You didn't remember your last name back then," Kaiba said, speaking slowly, recalling the memories. "But you said you have parents now. What's your last name?"

"Do you really care? Or do you just feel bad for forgetting me?" Kisara asked with a little smirk.

"Neither."

She laughed a little and struck a victory pose. "McFly."

"Don't lie to me."

Kisara nodded, laughing again. "Ah, you got me. It's Ryusei. My dad is Japanese and not a time traveler, but he is still awesome."

"I see."

The silver haired woman smiled. "How'd you remember?"

Kaiba averted his eyes. "I dreamt about you."

"That's creepy. Are you sure you're not _my _fangirl?"

"Shut up, Ryusei."

"Ah, you just wanted to know my last name so you could snap at me with it," she said, laughing. She wasn't at all insulted. "I'm so glad you remembered me, Kaiba-_shachou_."

"We know each other," Kaiba said sternly. "Or, you know me. It doesn't matter. You don't need to use that kind of unnecessary formality."

"So I can call you by your first name at work?" she asked skeptically.

"If you have a death wish."

Kisara laughed, running a hand through her hair. "Well, that's nice to know. Is the orphanage the only place you remember me from?" she asked, and Kaiba narrowed his eyes. Just what was she implying?

"Yes."

She giggled again, pulling her keys from her bag. "Well, I'm glad you remembered. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Good night." Kisara turned to unlock the door and pushed it open, and once again, Kaiba grabbed her wrist.

"Wait," he said, clenching his jaw.

"I'll be at work at nine tomorrow, silly," she said, waving him off.

Kaiba ignored her. "This is a one time thing," he told her. "Unfortunately I regretted this last time and I will not allow myself to feel that way again under these sorts of circumstances. This is a one time thing."

Kisara furrowed her brows, looking a little worried. "Um, okay? What is it?"

Before he could stop himself, Kaiba closed the distance between them, placing his other hand on her face to lift it to his. Their lips met, and Kaiba felt the woman stiffen, completely and utterly surprised as his sudden action. And then she seemed to realize what was happening and let her eyes fall shut, kissing him back gently, as though afraid she were dreaming.

But something in Kaiba stirred. It wasn't enough. Why did she kiss him so cautiously when they were obviously acquainted before? He had missed his chance to kiss her last week and by some miracle found himself in the same situation not even a week later. He would take advantage of this situation, as he would make sure that it would never happen again. In a brief motion, he bit her bottom lip softly and she parted her lips immediately, allowing him to deepen the kiss.

He immediately seized control of the kiss, moving his lips against her with a hesitant force like the tides, waxing and waning as he fought with the sudden desire for the silver haired woman. He could feel her smiling slightly as she kissed back as though amused and when he finally broke the kiss, she actually giggled.

"Well, that was nice," she said quietly, giving him a final peck on the lips. Despite her playful attitude, Kaiba could see her trying to regain her breath.

"That was a one time thing," he reminded her releasing her face and letting go of her wrist abruptly. He wasn't sure what had possessed him to do that at all and resisted the urge to yell, or something – _anything –_ to neutralize the stupid thing he had just done.

But she merely nodded, giving him another little laugh. "I know," she said, pushing open the door again. Kisara offered him one last sweet smile. "Good night, Seto."

And she closed the door.


	9. Chapter 9: A Little Dilemma

Kisara burst out laughing, shaking her head. "Eeeeh? Why does my invitation say 'Shiro'?" she asked Kaiba when he came to give her the invites for Mokuba's little demo event. The programming department was right downstairs and he might as well just hand them to Kisara to give to the rest of her co-workers. Of course, he could have done this earlier when she came to check in, and he wished he had done so, as her laughter was rather loud.

Kaiba didn't think that Mokuba would actually take him seriously when he said his lead programmer's name was 'Shiro'. Kaiba glanced down at the invitation, only seeing that one _kanji _for 'Shiro' and exhaled exasperatedly. Mokuba hadn't even put down a last name. Now, Kaiba knew that his brother wasn't _that _stupid – it was probably under the suggestion of someone incredibly stupid, such as Jonouchi Katsuya.

"I mean, I guess it's a cool nickname," she said, shrugging, placing the invitation down on her desk with a smile, running a hand through her hair. "Are these for everyone?" She gestured to the stack of invitations Kaiba had slammed onto her desk. The rest of the programmers peered over, actually looking surprised.

"Yes, obviously," Kaiba snapped, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Cool," she said with a smile. "Are you inviting Yugi-_san_? You two are friends, right?"

"No." Kaiba figured she probably had seen them compete in tournaments, as she did state that she had kept up with Duel Monsters tournaments back then. He couldn't remember if Mokuba was saying something about inviting Yugi – he was too preoccupied by trying to get out of the house before his younger brother asked questions. "I expect you to finish the new shell by the end of the week."

"Oh, yup, Izumi-_san _is on it, right?" she asked, looking over at the other programmer.

"Yep," he answered Kisara with a charming smile and Kaiba forced his face to remain neutral.

"Otogi-_san_, can you also make a version of Dungeon Dice Monsters for the Mini-K?" Kisara asked the long haired man one desk over. He seemed surprised that she'd ask, but she took it as worry. "I can help if you need; I can just make a mount for it or something—"

"Don't worry about it, Kisara-_chan_," he said with a smile. "I'll take care of it. Thanks for asking. I gotta go pick up everyone's lunches now, but I'll start when I come back."

"Of course." Kisara smiled, handing Ryuji his invitation from the pile of envelopes, and the man let his eyes linger on her for a moment too long for Kaiba's taste before leaving the room. That woman probably had no idea about the looks she received from the men in her department. To be honest, nerdy women weren't always attractive – save a few lucky ones – and Kisara was definitely one of the lucky ones by far and there for attracted the most attention from the opposite sex.

Kaiba hated that he was unsure how he felt about this.

"Do you need anything else, Kaiba-_shachou_?" she asked sweetly, Kaiba tasting some of her dry sarcasm by calling him 'Kaiba-_shachou_'. She had been addressing him by his first name during lunch and when she greeted him in the morning and before she left after work but kept to her word about using it in public.

"I believe that would be all," he said flatly. "You had better not be slacking off. My brother's event is soon; do not embarrass yourself. I will be going over the program schedule with you sometime within the next few days."

She smiled, nodding. "Gotcha. Have a lovely day filled with hopes and rainbows."

He shook his head and turned, sweeping away without another word.

Kisara received the expected reaction from her department: excitement over the invitation to such a big event as everyone tried to find their formal invitations, and Keiko freaking out about Kisara's casual attitude towards Kaiba.

Last week's kiss had been…Kisara didn't even have words. She had no idea that he would kiss her so forcefully – and for their first time, too! They hadn't gone anywhere for dinner since that time, but Kisara didn't expect to. She hadn't told Yugi or any of her new friends who she had been out with either, much to their playful protest. Kisara realized Kaiba probably wouldn't appreciate that.

She wondered if Kaiba had spoken about their time at the orphanage to Mokuba. She had a feeling that Mokuba didn't remember her either, but honestly, it wasn't too bothersome. Kisara was just happy to see the both of them again.

Kisara's computer started beeping and she looked up, noticing that a cartoon bunny was hopping around the screen, letting out a corny sounding guffaw. Had it come from her e-mail? She clicked on the yellow envelope the pink rabbit was holding. It automatically started a video chat program that connected her with a silver haired man.

"Pegasus-_sama_," she greeted, sounding confused.

"Ah, Kisara-_chan_, why so surprised?" he asked with a grin. His hands were folded over the desk, some of his hair falling into his face. "How have you been?"

"Great," she said with a smile. "Did you, ah, need anything?"

"I was just wondering if you have reconsidered my proposal to work at Industrial Illusions," he said nonchalantly, as though discussing the weather. This, however, was a big deal, as Industrial Illusions was such a big company. Pegasus J. Crawford had created Duel Monsters, after all.

"Actually, I got a job at Kaiba Corp," she said proudly, smiling at the man on the other side of the screen.

Pegasus seemed surprised, his eyebrows raising. "You did, did you? That's fantastic news, Kisara-_chan_."

"Thanks," she replied. Keiko was glancing over at her with a confused look but Kisara just shrugged. "Did you need something from Kaiba-_shachou_? I can let him know that you called."

"Oh, no, there's no need," Pegasus assured her. "That's actually all I wanted to ask. Congratulations on your job at Kaiba Corporations, I will make sure to keep an eye out for you. Don't let Kaiba-boygive you a hard time, eh?"

Kisara laughed. "Of course. Thanks for checking in."

"Take care, Kisara-_chan_."

"You, too," she said, and the screen went black. She furrowed her brows a little. It was a little random and weird that Pegasus would video chat with her just to ask about her job. She didn't remember giving him her e-mail address or anything like that, so she had no idea how he had even found her.

Then again, he had shown up at her graduation without ever contacting her before that, so she knew that he had his ways. Perhaps she should let Kaiba know about this.

No, she didn't want to worry him. She had an inkling that Kaiba would probably be sour, as they had bad blood in the past. Besides, it wasn't like Pegasus was trying to head-hunt her; he had congratulated her on the job and didn't even know what position she held anyway. He was just being friendly.

"I'm heading to lunch," she told no one in particular, turning her computer to sleep-mode and picking up her purse. She slipped out before anyone could say a word.

The days leading up to the event passed quickly. Mokuba was surprisingly very good at planning – as he had probably helped Kaiba plan tournaments back when he was a Duelist, and Kisara never once heard Kaiba snap about anything regarding the upcoming event. He had let Mokuba handle everything, and the younger Kaiba seemed to actually enjoy it.

The Friday night of the demo, Kisara had a dilemma. "I have nothing to wear."

"What?" Kaiba snapped, glancing away from his computer. It was Friday morning, ten before nine, and Kisara had been checking in with him as usual.

"For the party tonight," she explained. "I've been so busy with trying to get everything ready for the Mini-K that I forgot to buy a dress or anything. Nothing I already own is nice enough, and I used this week's paycheck to take care of rent and pay for school. Can I have an advance on the next paycheck?"

"No," Kaiba retorted, viciously annoyed. "_You're _the one that forgot and you have the audacity to ask _me _to borrow money? Why did you not _think _about this before hand?"

"I forgot," she answered honestly. It had totally slipped past her that she needed to buy something new to wear as she would be the one doing the demonstration. Kaiba would be introducing her and she would introduce her new invention, so she actually had a big part in the demonstration event. "I'll pay it right back when I get the next check."

"Are you a fucking idiot?" Kaiba was struggling not to yell. Although he didn't show it, he had been stressing about the event. It was something else on his plate and while Mokuba was taking care of most things, this _was _a Kaiba Corp event and Kaiba needed to have some part in it. "I _told you _not to embarrass yourself and you go and do the exact opposite."

"I just need an advance," Kisara tried again, ignoring Kaiba cursing at her. "I don't have a nice dress."

"Then don't come tonight," he snapped, turning back to his computer. "Mokuba will do the demonstration in your stead."

Kisara felt her stomach drop and she furrowed her brows. "I've been looking forward to this for almost three weeks. I just need money for clothes now and I promise I'll pay it back. With interest, even! I saw this blue dress in the window of Callista's that I liked but I was so occupied with working on the project, and needing to pay for my house and for school—"

Kaiba was quick to interrupt. "You're the one that was irresponsible, so you deal with the consequences. You barely come dressed appropriately to work and while that is unprofessional enough, going to an event for _my company _in a raggedy summer dress will be humiliating and I will not have it. Do not attend the demonstration."

The silver haired woman blinked a few times. "Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm fucking joking?" Kaiba snapped. "Get out of my office, Ryusei. You're a fucking embarrassment."

Kisara stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. Then she lowered her head, bowing politely. "Yes, Kaiba-_shachou_," she said quietly, before sweeping out of the room without as much as another peep.

Kaiba looked up upon hearing the door slam and rubbed his temples, exhaling deeply. He and Kisara hadn't been out for dinner for about a month. She was extremely busy preparing for the event. Even their lunches had been oddly silent as she always brought her laptop with her to work on programming and helping to edit the other programmer's work.

But the fact was that she always made the effort to come. Even if she had to walk downstairs and take her motorcycle and have lunch for forty-five minutes in Kaiba's company, and head back to the main building without a word exchanged between the two of them, Kisara still came everyday. She always ordered _edamame _and melon soda, and always offered to treat Kaiba, even though he knew that she barely had enough money to feed herself.

Then again, it wasn't like he _expected _her to come. She did so of her own accord – sharing lunch with him. She had initiated going out to the bistro that night a few weeks ago, and Kaiba wasn't the type to set up a personal "meeting" so perhaps at the back of his mind, he had been relying on her to do so.

That feeling on their first night together, playing Duel Monsters and talking, and that feeling the second night during their kiss – it was all Kaiba thought about. He would be working and suddenly he would remember the feel of her lips on his; warm and gentle. Or he'd be driving home and his mind would wander back to her strategy about trying to draw Defusion and how even though she had lost, she laughed, congratulating him without a trace of spite.

"Fuck," Kaiba mumbled, pressing his intercom button.

* * *

><p>"Ryuji-<em>san<em>, make sure that Dungeon Dice gets a room," she instructed. Tonight at the event, she was supposed to have introduced it and then told the guests where to try out the games. There would be several copies of the Mini-K in various ballrooms nearby where the guests could try them out. She had been arguing with Kaiba to give Ryuji's Dungeon Dice a room and he had reluctantly agreed.

"Oh, okay," he said, sounding confused. "Shouldn't you be doing that, though? I thought Kaiba okay-ed that. Did he change his mind?"

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that," she assured him with a laugh. "We're just, ah, it's nothing. Just make sure that he does everything according to what he told me, okay?" She didn't want to say something like, 'We're fighting,' because it made them seem like a couple. They were certainly not that. She barely had the chance to talk to him as it was and she was hoping that she would get to hang out with him a little tonight and set up something for dinner next week.

However, that didn't seem like it was going to be happening.

"Why wouldn't he follow it?" Ryuji asked, still confused.

"I don't know," she said, trying to make her tone sound light. "He might be mad at me so he might change stuff, cut the stuff I wanted to do. You know, do Kaiba-stuff."

"He's mad at you?" Ryuji raised an eyebrow. He hung out with Kisara outside of work when there was time, as he was friends with Yugi and the group and even after work, Kisara was still cheerful, despite working for Kaiba. Kisara and the other programmers were the only good thing about the job, as he knew just how nasty Kaiba could be.

"Yeah, I'm, um, not coming tonight," she said quietly, but Keiko heard her from the desk over.

"What?" she asked skeptically. "You're the lead of the project! This is your invention! You're doing the demo!"

"I know," Kisara said, looking at her hands as though they were suddenly extremely interesting. "It's fine, though. Just, um, tell me how it goes."

Keiko and Ryuji tried to ask what happened, but Kisara kept quiet. She knew how they felt about Kaiba, and didn't want to make it worse. Her answers got shorter and shorter until they finally backed off and got back to last minute preparations.

"Hey, wanna grab lunch?" Ryuji asked her during his break. "Don't overwork yourself, Kisara-_chan_."

Kisara glanced at the clock. It was twelve thirty. She normally had lunch at Tsuki's with Kaiba at twelve thirty, but he was probably still fuming. She didn't want to get in the line of fire, especially not when she was the cause of his rampage. Ryuji seemed to have lost track of time, asking her to lunch, as he normally had a break before her. "Sure," she said, standing up and offering Ryuji a smile.

He seemed surprised, but grinned. "Great. I'll drive."

Kisara followed him downstairs, the two chatting. He lead her to his car, a red Lancer, clicking the car open. "Oooooh, sweet ride," she said, examining it. "I guess that's what you get when you're the creator of a worldwide game sensation."

Ryuji chuckled, waving her off. "Thanks," he said, opening the door for her. She thanked him with a little bow, sliding in and pulling the door shut as Ryuji made his way to the driver's side. "Where do you feel like eating?"

"Anywhere's fine," she said with a smile and Ryuji couldn't help but return the gesture. She was so cute, and smart, and she was witty and funny – everyone loved her. Ryuji started the car, backing out of the parking lot.

"We'll grab something at this great Italian place. My treat," he told her, and Kisara smiled, thanking him. She lifted his iPod out of the cup holder.

"Do you mind?" she asked.

"Nah, go for it," he said, and she browsed through his music.

"Wow, you know a lot of great music!" she complimented, still scrolling.

"Show me what you got," Ryuji challenged playfully, and Kisara grinned, putting on '_Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer_' by ONE OK ROCK, the rapid drum solo filling the speakers before the guitars exploded, the two of them bobbing their heads to the music.

"_So now my time is up, your game starts, my heart moving_," they sang in unison, Kisara dancing her seat, Ryuji, chuckling to himself as he sang with her. She played a variety of ONE OK ROCK songs, and switched over to Blink-182's old songs, and even knew some indie American bands that Ryuji thought no one else knew. They pulled up to a stoplight, the two of them dancing in their seats, singing as loud as they could with the volume on its highest setting, not caring that the bass could probably be felt from outside.

Kaiba glanced out his window at the sound of a set of obnoxious subs. He hated teenagers that spent all their money on cars and intended on trying to make the vehicle explode just by looking at it. He had a few seconds – he was at a stoplight on the way to Tsuki's. However, he saw Kisara sitting in Otogi Ryuji's bright red car, dancing goofily with her silver hair flying all around as she and Ryuji were singing to something on his stereo system.

Kaiba's grip tightened on the steering wheel and he clenched his jaw. He thought that Kisara would undoubtedly come to Tsuki's today to work on the final touches for the event tonight, but apparently, Kaiba Seto could be wrong, too. As soon as the light turned green, Ryuji jammed on the gas, speeding through the intersection.

Not that he cared, or anything, but Kaiba _hated _the way Ryuji looked at Kisara. He was well aware that Otogi Ryuji was a lady's man and could be charming when he wanted to be, and Kaiba didn't doubt that Ryuji was trying out his so-called charm on Kisara. It pissed Kaiba off to end, and _that _pissed him off more.

He forced himself to forget about it, watching Ryuji's red car turn a corner. Tsuki's was in the other direction and Kaiba realized that for the first time in a few months, he was not going to see Kisara for lunch.


	10. Chapter 10: Angsty

Lunch with Ryuji was surprisingly very pleasant. The two of them had a lot in common; they both played a ton of video games, read the same _manga_ series, listened to the same music, and he even had decent knowledge about computer programming. There wasn't a dull moment between them; she enjoyed his company.

However, she couldn't help but still be plagued by Kaiba. She didn't understand why he was so upset and why he reacted that way. And she definitely didn't want to ask Ryuji for money for a dress – this was the first time they had really hung out besides work or with Yugi and his friends and she didn't want to seem like she was using him or something.

He was polite and didn't ask again about what happened with Kaiba, keeping the topics much lighter, before driving them both back to work to finish up for the demo event tonight. "I wish you could make it," Ryuji told her, sounding disappointed as he fixed his coat. It was five and everyone in their department was let off early to get ready for the event at seven. "Try to come?"

Kisara laughed a little. That would not happen. Kaiba would probably have her removed by security or something. But, regardless, she smiled, and nodded. "I'll try. Thanks, Ryuji -_san_."

"See you on Monday, Kisara-_chan_," he said with a polite nod, heading out of the office. Kisara waved, staying until the last programmer left. She wanted to make sure that all of her co-workers had ample time to prepare for tonight; they were all rather excited as this was a meeting for work where they could actually have _fun_. And it was pretty high class as well, as it was a Kaiba Corp event.

At five forty, she picked up her purse and locked up the office. She didn't bother going upstairs to check out with Kaiba as she was sure that he didn't care and she didn't feel like being yelled at after a tiring day. She adjusted her bag, heading into the elevator and riding all the way down. Kisara picked up her helmet from the front desk, tucking it under her arm as she exited the building, needing to shield her eyes from the bright orange rays of the sun.

"Ryusei-_san_," greeted a voice. Kisara recognized him as the guard who had greeted her on her first day here. She believed his name was Isono, Kaiba's personal guard.

"Oh, hey," she said with a smile. He was standing next to the door of a limousine. "Waiting for Kaiba-_shachou_?"

"Kaiba-_sama _has requested your presence at his penthouse," Isono informed her.

Kisara blinked a few times. "Now?"

"Yes, now," Isono said with a brisk nod. He pulled open the door.

"But my bike," she said, gesturing to her helmet.

"Kaiba-_sama _has already transported your motorcycle to his complex's parking," the guard told her. "Now if you will, Ryusei-_san_."

"Oh, um, okay," she said, blinking a few times and sliding into the limousine. She offered Isono a sweet smile. "By the way, you can just call me Kisara, Isono-_san_."

Isono seemed a little surprised that he was allowed to call her by her first name, but just nodded, making his way over to the driver's seat. He spoke through the divider between them. "Please make yourself comfortable. We will arrive at Kaiba-_sama_'s penthouse shortly."

"Okay, thank you," she responded before he closed the divider. Kisara let out a sigh. Kaiba was probably going to scream at her and make her feel worse. It was just a dress! If only Kisara had remembered that she needed to buy that. Her payment plan for Domino University wasn't even scheduled until Monday, but she wanted to get it out of the way since work had gotten so crazy. But it wasn't like she could take that money back now.

Kisara glanced around, and was completely surprised to see a bottle of melon soda and a small bowl of _edamame _on a small platform. Was that—had Kaiba left that for her? No, that was impossible, he was _pissed_. Still, she scooted over, taking a sip from the bottle and eating a few soybeans. She saw Kaiba's building through the tinted windows, and Isono stalled the car in front for a moment, coming around to open the door for her. "Please go upstairs," he told her with a bow.

"Oh, okay. Thanks for the ride. Maybe stay for a bit incase he kills me?" she joked sheepishly.

"I apologize, I do not drive a hearse," he said, and she laughed at his joke.

"Too bad for me, huh? Well, thanks again for a ride. Have a fantastic weekend, Isono-_san_."

"Ah, er, you, too, Kisara," he said with a polite bow. Kisara was so polite and sweet it actually surprised him. He stayed for a moment, making sure that she was heading upstairs before leaving. If she tried to make a break for it and run, Isono knew that he would be the one needing a casket.

Kisara knocked on the door to the penthouse, wondering what he could possibly want. Shouldn't he be getting ready for the party? Mokuba pulled open the door, greeting her with a smile despite his confusion. "Hey, Kisara," he said, opening the door for her. She stepped through, not bothering to take off her heels yet, just in case she needed to escape from Kaiba's wrath.

"Um, Kaiba-_shachou _wanted to see—"

Kaiba whipped something at her, the fabric falling over her head. "Shower and change. We will be leaving soon to oversee preparations for the demo," she heard him snap.

Kisara pulled down the fabric, inspecting it. She recognized it instantly as the blue dress she had seen in the window at Callista's. Had he…bought it for her? Kisara clutched the fabric. "K-Kaiba-_shachou_, I—"

"I already told you not to call me that," he told her as he was finishing buttoning his shirt. "Why is it that you are always late? Everyone was instructed to leave at five, but of course _you_ leave over half an hour late. Now hurry up and get ready or we _will _leave without you."

Kisara hugged the dress to her body before bowing very low. "Thank you so much," she said, rising and flashing Kaiba the sweetest smile he had ever seen. She moved past him towards the bathroom. "I'll be right out!"

Kaiba sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Mokuba even seemed a little puzzled, but decided not to say anything about it. Was Kisara Kaiba's date for tonight or something? Mokuba glanced at his brother, but Kaiba was strapping on his watch, and then he shrugged on his coat, lifting his briefcase to make sure that he had everything. He checked his phone for any calls and seemed quite busy, so Mokuba decided it was better to bring this up later.

"Do I look okay?" Kisara asked, coming out of the bathroom. She had spent half an hour showering and getting dressed, but it was shorter than most girls, so Mokuba was impressed. Kisara's dress was a light blue halter, a silver jewel holding the tie in place. It was backless, and fell down her petite body perfectly, a little too long so that her heels would make the dress fit right. Her silver hair was dried, falling in natural loose waves down her shoulders, her make up was very light, and she offered a sweet smile. The dress was a good choice; she was beautiful. No, more than that – Kaiba found her absolutely breathtaking.

"That will suffice," he told her and she clapped her hands together, happy. "I thought I told you to buy a headband."

Kisara smiled sheepishly. "I forgot?"

Kaiba sighed exasperatedly, taking something out of his briefcase. He tossed her a black box. Kisara fumbled with it for a moment before having the box settle in her hands. She opened it and gasped a little. It was a simple black headband, but there was a small diamond-studded rose offset to the right. "Is this for me?" she asked, sounding shocked. This had to be hundreds of thousands of yen.

"No, Mokuba and I are going to fight to see who's going to wear a fucking rose headband tonight," Kaiba replied sarcastically. "Put it on, you idiot. We're leaving."

Kisara placed the box on the coffe table, slipping the accessory in her hair before stepping into her heels and following Kaiba and Mokuba out of the penthouse. Had he planned for her not to have a headband? "My favorite flower is a rose, you know," she said, still smiling.

"I don't care," Kaiba snapped, locking the door and swiftly heading downstairs.

Kisara followed, practically skipping. "Thank you, Seto."

Mokuba needed to do a double take on that one. _No one_ used his brother's first name; it was even rare for Mokuba. Mokuba expected his brother to explode, babbling something about respect, but he merely muttered a, "whatever," without so much as saying anything about killing the silver haired woman.

Kisara slid into the backseat of Kaiba's Lexus, Mokuba taking the front. He decided not to really say anything to his brother about Kisara coming to the event. Mokuba would have invite her if he thought it would have been okay with Kaiba.

Kisara said in the backseat quietly, smiling to herself with her eyes out the window as she watched the secenery blur. The car was oddly silent, and Mokuba expected some sort of unsaid tension, as his brother had been yelling at Kisara earlier, and now he was driving her to Mokuba's demo event, but there was none. Was Kaiba even mad?

They pulled up a little early, Kaiba flinging his keys at the valet. The event was being held in a five star hotel; they had rented out all the ballrooms for tonight for the large amount of guests, as well as all the separate rooms for guests to play with the Mini-K. Kisara tried to take her purse out of the car, but Kaiba stopped her. "Leave it that in the car. I will not have you dragging around a bag the size of a cow." He turned to the valet. "If I find out that anything is missing from her bag I will fucking come for your head."

"Y-yes, sir," he said, sliding into the driver's seat looking like he was hopping into a rollercoaster, as he was praying for his life.

Kisara followed Kaiba through the front doors, Mokuba still confused as to why she was there. He glanced at his brother, who was wearing a white coat over a black shirt, vest, and black slacks. Mokuba then noticed that the color of his brother's tie was the exact shade of blue as Kisara's dress. So, they were going as dates, then? Mokuba turned his eyes to Kisara, who was trailing behind Kaiba, walking beside Mokuba. She offered him a smile, seeming excited to be here and Mokuba was genuinely confused.

Kaiba pushed open the doors to the main ballroom to see that it was already filled with people. "Mokuba, make sure everything is set," Kaiba told him, and Mokuba nodded, heading off to meet with the coordinator.

Kisara flanked Kaiba, flashing him a smile. "Thank you."

"You will pay me back ten times for the dress," he said, not looking down at her.

"Okay," she said, not seeming to mind. "And the headband?"

"Consider that your bonus for signing onto Kaiba Corp," he said. "After tonight, you can sell it. The diamonds are real. You can use that money to pay for the dress and your student loans and rent. It should be enough to cover all expenses for months, so you don't complain about money. I did you two favors. Be grateful."

"Did you pick out the headband?"

"Who else would have done it? I had time during lunch."

"Then I won't sell it," she said with a smile. "I'll pay you back with money from my checks and my other job. It might be slow, but I'll get it to you. Is that okay?"

"That will be fine." Kaiba finally glanced down at her. "Don't forget that a part of your work here tonight is to mingle so you don't need to hang off me the whole night."

"Okay," she answered with a nod. "Thanks again. I'm gonna go grab something to eat. I'm so hungry."

"Fine."

Kaiba watched her leave, navigating through the crowd of people to the food line. He sighed, running a hand through his brown hair. "Kaiba!" greeted a voice, and the CEO turned to see a spikey haired man with his normal group of friends.

"Yugi," he growled, frowning.

"This is a really nice party," Yugi commented with a smile. Yugi was always so polite despite Kaiba's bitter attitude.

"I know," Kaiba said, narrowing his eyes. "My brother planned it. I had no idea that he asked the owner if it was alright to bring in pets." He turned his attention to Jonouchi, who was dressed in a black shirt under a violet vest and black slacks.

"Say whatever the fuck you want, Kaiba, at least we ain't here alone," Jonouchi retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Eeeeeh? You got mini-hamburgers!" squealed a voice, and Kaiba turned to see Kisara approaching him with a tiny plate, several miniature hamburgers on it. They were extremely timy and she popped one into her mouth with a smile.

"I thought I told you to mingle," Kaiba said quietly, ignoring the looks he was receiving from Yugi and his friends. This was not the time and place for Kisara to be friendly, but saying that to her now would evoke even more suspiscion.

"Oh, yeah," she said, and handed Kaiba a business card she received. "One of the guys was like, 'you're a genius, we'd love to invest, please inform Kaiba-_shachou_!' And I was like, 'yeah, totally!'" Kaiba hated to admit that he was impressed. Kisara was easily approachable and within five minutes, she had already managed to nab a potential sponsor. She seemed to notice Yugi and grinned. "Eeeeh? I didn't know you invited Yugi-_san_!"

"Mokuba knows them," Kaiba told her.

"Oh, yeah, I know them, too. We all hang out during study sessions," she said with a smile. Kaiba narrowed his eyes at this, not knowing that they were acquainted.

"It's, ah, really great to see you, Kisara-_san_," Yugi said, smiling sheepishly.

"Yeah, what're you, um, doing here?" Anzu asked, sounding confused without trying to seem rude. Anzu knew that she was invited because Yugi was, and well, that was the perks of being the girlfriend of the King of Games. Mokuba seemed to have been too shy to ask Kisara to come, like he wouldn't know how his brother would react if he asked a woman four years his senior to accompany him as his date.

Kisara looked up at Kaiba as though asking for permission for something but he rolled his eyes. "I do not understand why you seem to have kept it a secret, Ryusei."

She grinned at Yugi and his friends. "I'm the lead programmer at Kaiba Corp." The all exchanged glances, seeming genuinely confused. "Seto threw this party for me."

"I already told you that it was for your invention," he said, shaking his head. "Do you ever listen when I talk?"

"Of course," she said, smirking playfully. She didn't seem to see the odd looks she was receiving from Yugi guys because of her casual use of Kaiba's first name. She smiled up at Kaiba and poked his tie. "You matched me."

"That is a coincidence."

"No need to liiiiiie, Seto!" she teased, and rolled his eyes. "Do you want some mini-hamburgers?" Kaiba opened his mouth to decline but she interrupted. "Of course you do, who doesn't want mini-hamburgers? I'll be right back, okay?"

She scurried off before any of them were able to say anything. Kaiba shot Jonouchi a snide look. That stupid blonde always annoyed him no matter what the circumstances so before he could stop himself, he blurted, "What was it you were saying about me being here alone?"

Jonouchi was completely speechless and could only glare.

"That's what I thought, _make-inu_," Kaiba said.

"So, what, you're the one that's been goin' on dates with Kisa-_chan_?" Jonouchi asked skeptically, scoffing. "I don't believe it at all. She's way too awesome for the likes o' you, Kaiba."

Kaiba hardened his gaze. Kisara had told Yugi and company that they had gone out for dinner? It wasn't like he forced her not to say anything, but Kaiba thought that was basically common sense. He didn't know why she hid her job from them, but Kaiba and Kisara going out together was much more personal and he would prefer that none of them knew anything about Kaiba's personal life. Especially not Jonouchi. Who knew what kind of poison he was saying about Kaiba to Kisara?

"Hello again," Kisara said, handing Kaiba a tiny plate with a few miniature hamburgers and some cakes. "These are really good. I like the chocolate one, but I don't know if you like vanilla, or—"

"Did you tell them?" Kaiba demanded, and she seemed surprised at his sudden outburst.

"Eh? Tell who what?" she asked, furrowing her brows. She grinned, thinking that he was putting on some kind of show for Yugi guys. "That I'm your biggest fan?"

"Shut up, Ryusei," he snapped. "I'm tired of your jokes; they're tasteless. Now, did you tell Yugi and his gang of losers about dinner or not?"

Kisara tilted her head. She hadn't told any of them a thing, knowing that Kaiba would probably get upset. "No, I didn't."

"_Don't_ lie to me," Kaiba growled, and Kisara blinked several times.

"I'm not lying," she said.

"You're pathetic," Kaiba scoffed, shaking his head. "I do you a fucking favor tonight and you go ahead and lie to my face not an hour later. You're the most disrespectful person I have ever met in my life."

"What are you talking about?" Kisara asked, sounding alarmed. "I didn't do anything, Seto."

Kaiba shook his head. "_Fuck_ you," he growled, nudging her shoulder as he swept past her angrily, Kisara stumbling for a moment.

She stood there dumbfounded, watching the older man leave. He seemed to have been in a good mood at the penthouse, like he had calmed down, but it seemed like he still had a lot of pent up rage. Even Yugi and his friends seemed a little surprised at Kaiba's reaction. Regardless of the hollow feeling in her stomach, Kisara smiled at them. "What's that about, right?" she tried to joke. They could see that she was visibly hurt from Kaiba's extremely harsh outburst.

"Kisa-_chan_, I didn't mean to," Jonouchi said, running a hand through his hair. Kisara definitely didn't deserve that tongue-lashing. "It was just an assumption. I didn't know he was gonna react like that – ya know how me and Kaiba get, and—"

"No, it's okay," she said, smiling, waving him off. She handed the plate she had gotten for Kaiba to Jonouchi. "You should try the cakes. I'll be right back, I have to run around 'cause this is still work for me."

"Ah, okay," Jonouchi said, looking terribly guilty. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize," she said with a smile as she headed off. "Have fun, I'm sure Mokuba-_san_ did a great job planning the demo."

"See you around," they said, waving her off. Anzu shoved Jonouchi, putting her hands on her hips as soon as the silver haired woman was out of an earshot.

"Why is it that whenever Kaiba explodes, you're the cause?" Anzu sighed, rubbing her temples. "I mean I know he can be a douche sometimes, Jou, but really, now, Kisara was the one that took that blow."

"He's the one that took it too seriously," Jonouchi defended. "And I still don't believe that he's the one that's been takin' Kisa-_chan _on dates; that bastard doesn't have a heart."

"Obviously he's the person that Kisara was trying to keep a secret," Anzu said, shaking her head. "That makes a lot of sense that she didn't want to say anything."

"Who woulda thought that _Kaiba _landed such a catch," Hiroto sighed, shaking his head.

"Oy, oy, Kaiba didn't land nothin'," Jonouchi said. "Kisa-_chan _is _way _too nice for the likes o' him. I'll believe it when I see it."

"Well, I don't think that'll ever happen now, thanks to you," Anzu scolded. "Why do you care anyway? You're going out with Mai."

"I know," Jonouchi said defensively. "I'm just sayin' that, ya know, Kisa-_chan'_s a nice gal and she don't deserve no selfish d-bag like Kaiba pushin' 'er around."

Anzu just sighed, shaking her head. Jonouchi would never change.

Kisara spent majority of the night talking to her co-workers, who were surprised to see her tonight after she had told them she was unable to make it. "I'm glad you're here," Ryuji said with a grin. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," she said with a smile. "You don't look bad yourself. Did you already see Yugi guys?"

Ryuji nodded. "Yep, we hung out for a bit," he said.

Kaiba's gaze flickered to Otogi Ryuji, who, _of course _was speaking with Kisara and trying to spit some game. He scowled, shaking his head to himself as he saw Kisara laugh at something he said.

"_Nii-sama_," Mokuba greeted, coming up to his brother with a smile. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, Mokuba. Great job planning," Kaiba said, patting his brother on the head. The younger Kaiba grinned from the praise.

Mokuba glanced around. He could have sworn he saw Kisara with Kaiba a while ago when they were speaking with Yugi and his friends. "Where's Kisara?"

"I don't care," Kaiba said flatly. He glanced down at his brother. "Did _you_ know that she was my lead programmer?"

Mokuba's eyes widened as he panicked. "_What_? _Kisara _is the lead programmer? You said your programmer's name was Shiro! Oh man, she must have thought I was a loser."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes slightly at this as he tried to piece things together. "She didn't tell you?"

"No," Mokuba said, running a hand through his hair. "You mean, _Kisara _made the Mini-K?"

"Yes."

"Wow, that's so amazing," Mokuba swooned. He caught himself and then added cautiously, "is she your date tonight?"

"No," Kaiba said, shaking his head. "Did she tell you that?"

"No," Mokuba replied, waving his hands. "She's really secretive about her personal life. Like, Jonouchi only got her to admit that she was going on one date, like, a month ago but she still hasn't told us who it was with, or really any details about anything else. I don't know her brother's name or even where in Japan she lived before going to school in America. And she didn't tell us that she worked with you either; I mean, I see her a lot, but I don't really know a lot about her."

"I see," Kaiba said quietly. So she had been telling the truth, then, saying that she hadn't told Yugi and friends about her date with Kaiba. Jonouchi had just gotten lucky, and gotten away with making assumptions.

"Can you go grab Kisara? I gotta go make sure everything is okay before she goes up and talks for the demo in like, fifteen minutes," Mokuba said with a smile.

"Fine," Kaiba said, glancing to where she was with Ryuji literally two minutes ago. Of course, she wasn't there anymore, and Kaiba sighed, running a hand through his hair. He let his eye sfloat around the grand ballroom, trying to pick out the silver haired woman in the blue dress, but couldn't find her at all. Had she left?

Kaiba navigated through the sea of people, pushing out of the ballroom. He glanced left and right, seeing Anzu's deep green dress rounding a corner. Anzu was pleasant enough; perhaps Kaiba could ask for her assistance in locating Kisara.

Then Kaiba remembered that he had cussed out Kisara for no apparent reason in front of all Yugi guys. That probably didn't make Kaiba seem like the warmest of people and Anzu would probably bitch him out. But still, he needed to find Kisara on behalf of Mokuba, so he followed, but was stopped by the sound of Jonouchi speaking. They were just hanging out in the stairwell, probably because it was so loud in the ballroom.

"You feelin' better, Kisa-_chan_?" Jonouchi asked, and Kaiba realized that Kisara was there. He didn't round the corner to the stairs, instead keeping himself concealed. Damn, this was completely unlike him!

"Yeah," she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice. "Thanks for caring, Jonouchi-_san_."

"Kaiba gave you a real beating back there," Anzu said. "I'm just glad you're not like, in tears or anything. You're really strong; most people would have gotten upset or cried a little. He kind of yelled for no reason."

"That's so like Kaiba," Jonouchi said, shaking his head. "I didn't know you were datin' 'im."

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that," she said sheepishly. "We're just co-workers."

"Ha! See, told you, Hiroto, they ain't datin'. Kaiba's delusional, thinkin' that he can get a nice girl like Kisa-_chan_," Jonouchi said triumphantly.

Hiroto just chuckled. "Whatever, man. You saw how defensive the guy got."

"Yeh, 'cause he's just pissed 'cause he wants Kisa-_chan _but she puts up the Heismann, like 'no, stop right there!' and denies 'im big time," Jonouchi said as a matter-of-fact. "Serves him right, too. Kisa-_chan_, you're such a nice person. You weren't here when we all went to school togetha and he harassed us all the time. I mean all o' us, you know? He was selfish and rude, and never helped out, you know? Obssessed with himself and his ego is the size of like – I dunno, what's a big place? – fuckin', the _universe_ and he just puts himself at the top of the world—"

Kaiba didn't need to hear the rest of that. He didn't blame Kisara if she believed all of that; he deserved that right now for treating her so unfairly. The one person that treated Kaiba like an actual person – he had screamed at her like she was a nobody. He would just go back and tell Mokuba he couldn't found Kisara.

"Jonouchi-_san_," Kisara said, stopping Kaiba from walking, and interrupting Jonouchi's rant. "Please don't say things like that about Seto. I know that he might seem mean sometimes, but I completely understand; he's just stressed, and I know I can be irresponsible sometimes, too, so that adds to it."

"Yeah, but you ain't even did nothin' to deserve being sworn at like that," Jonouchi said, furrowing his brows.

She laughed a little. "It's fine, though. It's not like I'm mad about it or anything. It was just a misunderstanding; I'll wait until he calms down to clear things up. He's really nice to be around, you know. I know Seto can seem really cold-hearted, but he's…really a genuine person."

Jonouchi raised both his eyebrows. "Genuine? Kaiba's a genuine assho—"

"Ryusei," a voice said, and everyone looked up to see Kaiba standing there, his arms crossed over his chest. "Your demo starts in five minutes. Let's go."

"Okay," she told Seto. "Come inside in a bit and see how the Mini-K works," she said to Yugi, following Kaiba up the stairs.

No one had defended him. No one had ever even tried. And even after Kaiba had treated Kisara unfairly, she still felt strongly enough about him to defend him against Jonouchi's sour words. She followed behind him obediently, not saying a word as though afraid he was going to explode and slaughter her. He felt a pang in his chest – was this…guilt?

Kaiba navigated through the crowd as Mokuba did his introduction, taking Kisara backstage. "You remember what to say and do?" he asked, not looking at her.

"Yup," she answered, smiling. "It's my design, right? I'm sure everyone will be stoked." She smoothed out her dress, fixing her hair quickly, and made a move to head out onto the stage alongside Mokuba.

Kaiba swiftly grasped her hand and turned her around, using his other hand to push her chin up and kissed her square on the lips. She didn't hesitate like the first time, kissing back quicker this time but when they broke apart, Kaiba couldn't help but feel cheated. "We're going to dinner tomorrow night. I'll pick you up at your apartment at eight – _but_ that will be a one time thing."

Kisara laughed. "Okay," she said, offering him a smile. "At first I wasn't sure about this mood-swingy Seto, but I think your apology will suffice."

"Will…_suffice_?" Kaiba asked incredulously. "Was that not ample apology for my actions?"

Kisara grinned, shrugging playfully. "I _guess_," she teased, and Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Stop being ridiculous," he told her, turning her around and giving her a light shove towards the stage. Kisara giggled, turning her head to stick out her tongue. She had a demo to do.


	11. Chapter 11: Alone to His Thoughts

The demo went by without a hitch. After Kisara's introduction and release of the product, together as a team, she and Kaiba spoke to a lot of other investors and gained many allies in their new project. It was the first time Kaiba actually had a pleasant time at a party and something told him that it was because of the silver haired woman at his side.

Kaiba was at Kisara's complex at eight on Saturday. The woman burst out of her apartment at 8:05, still trying to put on her shoes as she stumbled down the stairs to where he was waiting. Kaiba sighed and rolled his eyes as she practically fell into the car.

"You're late even when I'm the one picking you up," Kaiba said, shifting the car into first.

She fixed her hair with a grin and Kaiba noticed that she was still using the headband. She grinned up at him. "Sorry, I fell asleep."

"It's Saturday."

"Yeah, but I work three jobs and I go to school, too," she said, strapping in her seatbelt. "I'm tired during the week so I like to sleep on the weekends after I do homework and catch up on my _manga _for the week."

"_Manga_?" Kaiba said, raising an eyebrow. "You follow those magazines?"

Kisara gasped. "You don't?"

"I don't have time."

"Oh, man, you're really missing out!" she said, laughing. "So, you've never read like, _Naruto _or _One Piece_? Or even, like, _Dragon Ball Z_?"

"No," Kaiba said, getting back on the freeway. He had heard of them and seen ads for them but never really got into them. Mokuba probably read some, though.

"That's crazy!" Kisara said, shaking her head. "I've been following for years now! I mean, _Dragon Ball _is done now, but it was amazing, I used to watch it with my brother. And even when I was in America, I would read every week. These great online sites scan the magazines and translate it into English, so it helped me work on my English as well. I love that stuff! I follow all kinds of magazines."

"I don't have time," Kaiba said again. "I'm always at work and you're always annoying me."

"Aw, that second part's not true," she said, giggling. She had decided to let his outbursts yesterday go forgiven because she knew that he was busy and probably just stressed out from the demo. Things seemed to have gotten better as the night went on, though, as he stayed by her side the entire time. "Anyway, where are we going tonight?"

"I'm going to kill you and throw your body into the ocean."

Kisara laughed again, waving him off. "You're getting better at makes jokes, Seto."

"I wasn't joking."

Kisara giggled some more at his stern tone. "You're funny. Oh, yeah, can I have the day off on Monday?" She saw Kaiba flash her a glare through the mirror and held her hands up in defense. "I know, I know, I'm sorry, but I have this thing for school. The computer science grad kids are getting together to show progress on our projects and stuff, and I gotta go. It's like an all-day thing. I actually only remembered it today. I won't even be able to make it to our normal lunch time."

"Why do you forget everything all the time?" Kaiba sighed.

"Busy with the demo."

"You cannot keep using that excuse. The demo is over."

"It's not an excuse," she said, smiling sweetly. "Please? I promise not to forget stuff anymore. I'll, um, buy a planner?"

"That is probably the most useful idea you have come up with. Buy a planner," Kaiba told her. "And you better use it. Be more organized. You're the lead of a project, people are going to be expecting things from you and you need to be able to deliver. You cannot keep forgetting important things, whether they be for work or for school."

"Okay," Kisara said, glad that Kaiba didn't explode at her this time. "So, is that a yes to off on Monday?"

"Fine," Kaiba growled.

Kisara grinned. "Thank you."

"Whatever."

"Where are we going?"

"Can you not just wait until we get there?"

"No."

"See? You are always annoying me."

"Totally not true."

"We're going to a company dinner."

"What?" Kisara said, making a face. "We just had something for Kaiba Corp last night. I thought we were going to hang out tonight."

"That was a joke."

"Oh," Kisara said, laughing. "Sorry, but Seto, that was a bad joke."

"Because I don't make jokes."

The silver haired woman laughed anyway. "You know, Mokuba-_san_ apologized for sending my invitation out to 'Shiro'. It was funny and cute; he looked so embarrassed. Did you not tell him I was the lead?"

"It never came up," Kaiba lied.

Kisara scoffed playfully. "How could that have not come up? You're not trying to keep me a secret from Mokuba-_san_, right?"

"You're delusional if you think that way," Kaiba told her, a little annoyed as to how she had come to read him so well.

"What did you tell Mokuba-_san _when you left your house?"

Kaiba paused for a moment. "Went to work."

Kisara laughed, grinning at him. "It's Saturday. He believed you?"

"Doubt it. My brother isn't the same naïve little kid." He paused again, his grip tightening on the wheel slightly. "I apologize for last night. You didn't tell Yugi anything, did you?"

Kisara smiled, shaking her head. "Nope."

"Thank you," he said quietly. "You may tell them if you wish. It does not matter to me."

"It's okay," she said, waving him off. "I won't say."

"It boggles my mind why you would want to be friends with that lot anyway," Kaiba said, shaking his head. "Especially that _make-inu _Jonouchi."

The silver haired woman smiled. "Everyone needs friends."

"Friendship is for the weak."

"We're friends, though, aren't we?" Kisara asked, Kaiba hearing the slightest bit of hopefulness in her voice.

He glanced at her briefly, finding himself unable to tell her no. "This is different."

"In a good way?"

"We knew each other since we were younger, that's why this is different," was the only thing Kaiba could really say. He didn't even understand everything himself, but was not ready to say anything to Kisara about it.

"Did you tell Mokuba-_san _about that?"

"Not yet."

"You're a pretty private person."

"So are you."

Kisara smiled again. "Not really. I'd tell you anything if you asked."

"I'm not asking."

"I know. That's why it doesn't seem like I tell you much."

"I'm not talking about words exchanged between us. I was talking about you being rather private around your new 'friends,'" Kaiba told her. "You didn't tell them you were my programmer."

"I was about to the first day we hung out, but Jou-_san _started talking about you—"

"I bet that _make-inu _has shared some pretty colorful things about me," Kaiba scoffed.

"Yeah," Kisara said, nodding. "But I believe in what I see. When we were little, you were always so kind to me and Mokuba-_san _and I think that a part of the you back then still exists in the you today."

"You're talking nonsense."

"Is it?" she asked, smiling gently. "You and Mokuba-_san _were adopted before me. Do you remember what you said on our last day together?"

"We're here," Kaiba said, swerving his car into a parking structure. They were having American grill today, as Kaiba noticed Kisara's taste for Americanized foods, including those miniature hamburgers he had to ask Mokuba to put in the food line at the demo. That was quite embarrassing and Kaiba wasn't planning on doing something like that again.

Kaiba ended up never answering the question that Kisara had asked him in the car. He couldn't remember what he had said to her on their last day at the orphanage because he hadn't even remembered her being there until he dreamt about her. And even then, when he was awake, he could barely recall all the details.

Honestly, he felt a little bad. She seemed to know him and remember him so well and he wasn't able to reciprocate. They spent a lot of time together and yet Kaiba felt like he didn't know her at all. He never really cared about getting to know people but Kisara made him want to…try.

But it was hard. Everytime he wanted to ask her to elaborate on something to get a better picture of who she was, he couldn't. His lips just couldn't speak the words. His mind kept drifting back to the motif he had been trusting in his entire life: that everyone was alone. If he got to know Kisara, that would mean letting her in and he couldn't do that yet. The only other person in his life was Mokuba and even then, he felt like his own brother was drifting away. If he let someone he barely even _knew _get close to him, what would happen then?

Kaiba knew that he was better off alone. He knew that he was strongest as an island, with no one standing beside him but when he looked at that silver haired woman, he realized how weak he really was. He could barely speak to someone who had believed in him and defended him – what kind of man was he, if he couldn't even give her half what she had tried to give him, even in these brief months?

"Are you okay?" she asked on the drive home. Dinner had been delicious; the best hamburger she had ever had. Kaiba had paid tonight, as it was his "turn" and she was grateful, thanking him profusely as usual.

"I'm fine," Kaiba responded. She read him so well. He had been interacting with her as much as he normally would, but she seemed to be able to tell that there was something else on his mind.

"Thanks for dinner," she said with a smile.

Kaiba clenched jaw. _Say something nice!_ "You're…welcome."

Kisara seemed surprised, but didn't say anything about it, just turned her eyes forward, still smiling. "Will we be going out again, or was American grill a one time thing?"

"We may…go out again," Kaiba said, struggling with this. Just for tonight, he wanted to try to respond like a normal human being. He hadn't been out on real dates with a real woman like Kisara in…well, ever. Other women normally just came to the apartment, spent the night, and left in the morning. There was no talking involved, no 'getting to know' the woman.

"Great," Kisara said, fixing her headband again. "I'll pay next time."

"Fine." _Try to start conversation_. "How is, ah, apartment hunting?"

"Oh, I had to take a break from that for now. I had a lot to do for the demo, and on top of school, tutoring Mokuba twice a week, and singing at the café, I didn't really have a lot of time to spend looking around. It's okay, though, I'll start up again soon, hopefully."

_Make a friendly suggestion_. "Why do you not ask your friends to live with them?"

"Oh," Kisara said, seeming to think about it. "That actually doesn't sound that bad. Maybe Ryuji would know somewhere."

Otogi Ryuji. Kaiba rolled his eyes at the thought of that womanizer. "I meant Yugi."

"Aw, but doesn't he live with Anzu?"

"How should I know?"

Kisara shrugged, smiling. "Yeah, maybe I'll ask them when I see them on Tuesday."

"It would be safer to live with friends than to live alone in your neighborhood," Kaiba told her.

"You're right. I hope they have an extra room or something, that'd be fun!"

Kaiba didn't really respond to that, and he drove her home in a comfortable silence. He walked her up to her apartment as usual, and she bowed, thanking him again for the meal. She turned, pulling out her keys. "Wait, stop, where are you going?" Kaiba sighed sarcastically. Why she played these games was completely beyond him.

"Oh, was there something you forgot?" she asked playfully, turning around with a grin.

Kaiba leaned down and instead of forcefully taking her lips like how they kissed before, he tried to be a little gentler, and she responded appropriately, kissing him sweetly. The electricity between them rocketted through his body unlike anything he had ever felt before and Kaiba knew that Kisara was feeling the exact same thing. He probably didn't that shock notice before, being so overwhelmed by their first and second kisses, but he did realize that he…liked the feeling.

But they had to break the kiss eventually and when they did, Kisara gazed up at him, smiling. "Now _that's_ ample apology."

"You think you're funny, don't you?" Kaiba responded, pushing her face away lightly.

"I know I'm hilarious," she said, wrenching open her door. She smiled sweetly. "Good night, Seto."

"Good night," he told her, finding himself still unable to use her first name. Kisara closed the door behind her, leaving Kaiba to his thoughts.


	12. Chapter 12: Monday Night

On Monday, it was raining.

Kaiba had almost forgotten that he had given Kisara the day off and was a little annoyed when she didn't come in at nine until he had remembered that she had an event for school. He wondered if Kisara had driven to school in the rain; it had been pouring from Sunday night and had been relentless until now.

The day was monotonous. It was hard for Kaiba to even keep track of the days anymore; they all felt the same. The only time he realized that time was passing was, pathetically, when he spent time with Kisara. But today was Kisara-less day, as she had to do things for school. He found himself becoming bored and glancing at the clock. There seemed to be nothing to look forward to today.

Not that he _looked forward _to time they spent together, or anything.

At five, he decided to leave. Kisara wasn't going to check in with him anyway so there was no reason for him to stay. He snapped his briefcase shut, fixing his suit jacket and throwing on his coat. On his way down, Isono stopped him for a moment. "Ah, Kaiba-_sama_, this memo came for you earlier today. You seemed busy so I thought you might like it now."

It was a slip of paper sealed shut with a sticker of what looked like a bunny. Kaiba peeled it open to see flowy handwriting read, "Have a lovely day, Kaiba-_shachou_. –K"

Kisara had stopped by? "Thank you," Kaiba told Isono, and the older man seemed surprised as Kaiba tucked the letter into his jacket pocket. "See you tomorrow."

"Ah, er, yes, sir," Isono responded with a bow as Kaiba swept past him. Kaiba slid into his Lexus, taking the letter out of his pocket as not to crumble it. He didn't realize that Kisara said that to him everyday before work, wishing him a lovely day. Kaiba didn't realize that it was odd he hadn't heard her voice say those words this morning and then cursed at himself a little for missing her for one day.

Kaiba let out a sigh as he drove down the same familiar streets. He also realized that he passed by Domino University on the way home and peered out the window for a split second, seeing a figure standing under a bus sign. It was a sivler haired girl, her hair and clothes completely soaked, but a bundled up poncho in her arms. "What the fuck?" Kaiba mumbled to himself, pulling over and rolling down the window. "Ryusei, what are you doing?"

"Oh, Seto," she said with a smile, water dripping down her face. "I didn't drive 'cause of the rain and I'm also out of gas, so I was waiting for the bus."

"Why are you standing in the rain?"

Kisara blinked a few times. "Because it's raining?"

"You're holding a poncho," Kaiba reminded her.

"Oh, yeah, because the Mini-K would get soaked if I left it in my bag, so I'm protecting it," she said, grinning. "My bus should be here soon to take me to the station."

Kaiba sighed exasperatedly, reaching over to push open the car door. "Get in the car. I'll take you home."

She wiggled her wrists, trying not to let her grip falter on the Mini-K. "There's no need. I'm like, soaking and I don't want to mess up your car. Thanks for the offer though."

"Get in the car, Ryusei," Kaiba said, narrowing his eyes.

"But—"

"I'm not going to say it again."

Kisara hummed as though thinking, but crawled into the Lexus. She unwrapped her Mini-K and placed the dry device in the backseat as she closed the door behind her. Water dripped all over her seat and all over the floor and she glanced at Kaiba sheepishly. "Seto, there's really no need. The bus is coming soon," she told him.

"It's fine. You can dry up at my place and I'll take you home when the rain clears so the road isn't too bad. There's traffic at this hour, and the rain will make it worse," Kaiba told her. He turned for a moment. "This is a one time thing."

Kisara smiled and nodded. "Okay. Thanks."

_Start conversation_. "How was school?"

"Good," she said with a smile. "Everyone was impressed with my project and they're even more impressed when I told them I was Kaiba Corp's new lead programmer. They asked me what I was even doing in graduate school."

"What _are _you doing in graduate school?" Kaiba asked. "You already have a good job at my company. Domino isn't exactly the cheapest college in Japan, and graduate school costs more, does it not?"

"Yeah," she said with a shrug. "But I don't know, what if you fire me or something? Gotta go to grad school for something."

"I won't fire you," Kaiba assured her.

"You don't know that," she said, looking at her hands. "You might find someone better than me."

_Say something nice! _"Impossible."

Kisara seemed surprised at that, looking up and flashing Kaiba a grin. "Really? You think I'm the best?"

"At programming," Kaiba said. "You were able to mimic Solid Vision and enhance it all by yourself in four years. That is a feat no other person I have met and will ever meet will be able to accomplish. You are a vital part of my company and I have no intention of letting you slip away."

Kisara smiled a little, but it wasn't the same grin as she normally sported. It looked like she was a little…disappointed. "Thanks. How was work?"

"The same."

"Un-super un-fun?" she asked, smiling at him happily.

"I suppose," Kaiba sighed. "You dropped off a note for me."

"You got it," she said, sounding relieved. "Isono-_san _seemed a little skeptical so I thought he wasn't going to give it to you."

"You came all the way to Kaiba Corp to give me a piece of paper?"

Kisara nodded. "I had to leave extra early. My meeting started at eight thirty, so I had to leave the house at like, six thirty to make it to Kaiba Corp, drop off the note and make it back to school on time."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know, I wanted to. I wanted Kaiba-_shachou _to have a lovely day," she said with a smile. Kaiba scoffed a little, but it wasn't an angry scoff, more like just a noise to make in response. She saw the note in the cup holder, and smiled to herself as they pulled up to his penthouse.

"Put your computer in my briefcase," Kaiba told her as he got out of the car. Kisara quickly slid out, opening the backseat to tuck the Mini-K into Kaiba's metal briefcase before following him up into the penthouse. It was dark still; Mokuba wasn't home yet as he was probably hanging out with Yugi and his friends until the rain let up a little. Kaiba glanced up, wondering if that would happen tonight.

He shrugged off his coat, tossing it onto the couch as Kisara kicked off her sandals. Her jeans and sweater were completely drenched and she brushed the hair from her face as she closed the door behind her. "You know where the bathroom is, just go shower," Kaiba told her, heading into his room.

"Okay," Kisara said as he closed the door to his room. Kaiba lived in a five-bedroom penthouse with a full kitchen, two living rooms, and two bathrooms. She assumed the one she had showered in before was his, as it was across of his room, so she slipped in, flicking on the lights. She could probably find a blowdryer or something in here to dry her undergarments, and she would have to ask Kaiba about clothes but she decided to do that after showering.

The bathroom was probably half the size of Kisara's apartment, with two sinks with marble countertops and a crystal clear mirror hovering overhead. The floor was marble as well, and the showerhead was the size of Kisara's face. She flipped it on, letting the bath heat up before stepping into the water.

She was glad that Kaiba was treating her like a normal person now. He was still a little sharp with her, but at least she could see him trying to make an effort. She was happy that she was leaving an impression on the cold CEO. Kisara couldn't help but wonder what happened to him in the past ten years that had completely changed him.

She took her time showering. It was cold standing in the rain and she didn't want to catch a cold, so what was the harm in warming up? Afterwards, she wrapped herself in one of Kaiba's towels hanging nearby. Kisara didn't want to go poking around in Kaiba's stuff so she decided she'd just ask him for the blowdryer.

Kisara pushed open the door, letting the steam flow from the bathroom as she stepped out, hugging the towel against herself. Kaiba's door was open, so did that mean he wasn't in his room anymore? She glanced left and right, not seeing him anywhere.

"Seto?" she called, making her way down the hallway. Her hair was still dripping, rivulets of water splashing onto the floor, but she would wipe that up later when she was fully clothed. "Seto, ah—"

Mokuba was standing at the front door and had just thrown off his coat. His face turned beet red and he immediately turned his face away. "Ah, Kisara!" he said, turning around completely. "I'm so sorry, are you here with—"

"What the _hell _are you doing?" Kaiba asked, coming up from behind Kisara. He was in his room after all. He turned his face away, finding himself blushing.

"I was going to ask you about clothes," she said, fixing her grip on the towel to make sure the Kaiba brothers didn't see anything indecent. "Or like, a blowdryer to blowdry my underwear?"

"Mokuba, you have some spare sleepwear, don't you?" Kaiba asked his brother, making sure not to look at Kisara. What the hell was she doing coming out of the bathroom naked and wrapped in _his _towel?

"I didn't do laundry," Mokuba said, keeping his back turned. "I was going to do it later tonight."

"You don't have _anything_?" Kaiba asked with a sigh.

"I've been busy with school, they're starting midterms," Mokuba answered. He pulled at his shirt. "This is my last set of clothes."

"You're kidding me," Kaiba muttered, shaking his head. "Ryusei, get the hell back in the bathroom."

"But, clothes," she complained, making a face.

"I'll get you clothes, now go. The blowdryer is under the sink," he said, rubbing his temples as Kisara scurried back into the bathroom. Mokuba peeked over, making sure it was okay to look and Kaiba spoke quickly. "She was standing in the rain after her presentation at school. Nothing happened."

Mokuba shook his head. "You don't have to explain anything to me, _Nii-sama_," he said, scratching his head sheepishly. "That's um, none of my business."

Kaiba actually didn't know how to respond to that. Kaiba never cared about Mokuba meeting women that spent the night because he knew that Mokuba would never see them again, but Kisara was different. _And _Mokuba seemed to have a little crush on her, too, so that made things even more difficult for Kaiba to wrap his mind around. He felt like a snake, sneaking around his younger brother like this. He didn't want to hurt Mokuba, but at the same time, he didn't exactly wish to _share _Kisara. She couldn't be going on dates with Kaiba Seto _and_ Kaiba Mokuba; that would be awkward.

Seto sat next to his brother on the couch, leaning on his knees and exhaling. He opened his mouth to speak, but Mokuba stopped him. "I'm not mad or anything," he said with a grin. "I was actually planning on introducing you to Kisara, but I guess you guys just kind of ended up meeting anyway."

"Mokuba," Kaiba said, running a hand through his hair. "There is nothing between Ryusei and I."

"For now," Mokuba said, shoving his brother playfully. "Come on, she's cute."

"She's annoying."

"She's amazing," Mokuba corrected with a smile. Kaiba just sighed at that, unable to argue. "It was really weird, I had a dream like, a night or two ago. We knew her, didn't we? Like, before, at the orphanage. I feel like a total dick for forgetting, but I was planning on apologizing to her tomorrow. We were all friends at the orphanage; we got adopted before her, though."

Mokuba had a dream, too? Kaiba wondered what the trigger memory was for Mokuba, as Mokuba wasn't there on the day that Kaiba had met Kisara, as she was being bullied. "Yes, we knew her."

"I liked her then, too, huh?" Mokuba said light heartedly, chuckling a little. "So weird."

"There is no reason for you to be alarmed. I assure you that Ryusei and I are merely co-workers," Kaiba told Mokuba, not really sure if he was telling himself or telling his brother.

Mokuba laughed, standing up and heading into the kitchen to start dinner. "Yeah, yeah, no need to get defensive, _Nii-sama_."

"I'm not getting defensive," Kaiba said, but his brother just laughed again.

"I can give you advice, you know," he said with a playful wink. "I actually met a girl at school. You remember Hopkins Rebecca, right? She's actually in my programming class, too, she sits in because she's the TA for the professor's next class."

"I told you that the right girl will come along, even if that Hopkins is a runt," Kaiba said, shaking his head at his brother. He was a little relieved that Mokuba didn't seem too shaken by Kisara being over the house, and being naked in Kaiba's towel. Not that there was anything to be worried about, but now Kaiba didn't feel like he had to lie to his brother.

"Yeah, anyway, I could totally hook it up with you and Kisara," he teased with a wink. It was actually a little amusing to get to tease his older brother about a girl. And at that moment, Mokuba realized that maybe he didn't have a crush on Kisara at all.

"You're delusional," Kaiba told him, heading back down the hall to get clothes for Kisara. "She will probably be staying for dinner, so make her a serving too."

"Got it," Mokuba said with a smile. Even if he was a little disappointed about Kisara, he couldn't stop smiling. Kaiba Seto had finally let someone within the perimeter of those walls he threw up around him. Mokuba was glad that that person was Kisara.

To be honest, he and Yugi had a talk about this. Upon finding out that his brother had flipped out thinking that Kisara had told them about a date – to which Mokuba had totally flipped out about, as Kaiba _never _went on dates – Mokuba said something that had been at the back of his mind for some time now.

"I feel like I know her from somewhere."

"Yeah," Yugi agreed, surprising him. "I think I know her, too." They spoke about the visions from ancient Egypt – the visions that Kaiba never believed in, and how back then, the priest serving under Pharaoh Atem shared a deep relationship with a woman named Kisara that harbored the _ka _of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Kaiba had refused to believe it, as he only believed the Blue Eyes as a card, but even Mokuba knew better than that. The world was the peaceful place it was because of Yugi's fight against supernatural forces; Mokuba couldn't just overlook that the way Kaiba did.

But with the appearance of Kisara in modern day life, Mokuba asked Yugi what he thought would happen. Thousands of years ago, Kisara had sacrificed herself to save the priest, who Yugi truly believed was reincarnated as today's Kaiba Seto. Kisara had died then and the priest had suffered crushing loss over her death.

"I hope history won't repeat itself," Yugi said. "But I honestly doubt it. Kisara must have come to Kaiba for a reason – to open his heart. I know that Jou talks bad about him, but I really think that Kaiba is a good person."

"He is," Mokuba agreed. He had looked down at his hands, wringing them together. "I think he just forgot how to be one."

Yugi smiled. "And I think that's where Kisara comes in. It was fate."

"Eeeh? These clothes are cute," Mokuba heard a voice say as footsteps approached.

"That is not the correct adjective," Kaiba said, emerging from the hall first and sitting on the couch. Kisara came out and waved at Mokuba with a loose sleeve falling from her hand. She was dressed in one of Kaiba's deep blue silk linens, the garment hanging off her body like a dress. She was, of course, wearing the matching pair of silk pants, to which she had to roll the waistband so that they wouldn't fall off. Kaiba was much taller than her and therefore his clothes were much bigger.

"Oh, yeah, my bad, it's _super _cute," she said, placing herself on the couch next to him. Her hair was tied up with a towel and she sat cross-legged on the couch.

"Super shut up," Kaiba responded, flicking on the television.

"I'm gonna make _okonomiyaki_," Mokuba told them, taking the batter from the pantry. "Is that okay, Kisara?"

"Oh, yeah, thanks!" she said with a smile as Kaiba turned on the news. "Thanks for letting me use the shower."

"It would be troublesome if you called off on Wednesday due to a cold."

Mokuba smiled as the two sat in silence, watching the news. He decided to try something. "Oh, so, Kisara, I was talking to Rebecca—"

"Eeeeh? Mokuba-_san _you can do better than that!" Kisara said at once, crossing her arms over her chest and puffing her cheeks out. Kaiba seemed surprised, glancing at Kisara for a moment, amused. "She's such a brat!"

Mokuba grinned. "Nah, she's kind of cute now. Lost the glasses, flattens her hair, dresses pretty nice," he said with a shrug. "I guess I have a thing for blue eyes."

Kisara hummed distastefully, shaking her head. "She's something else, Mokuba-_san_."

"I was actually thinking of asking her on a date," Mokuba said, wanting to see their reaction. "But, you know, if you don't trust her, you and _Nii-sama _could come. It'd be fun, like a double date!"

"Ryusei and I are not dating," Kaiba said immediately, turning his eyes back to the television.

"That does sound fun," Kisara mused, ignoring Kaiba. She turned to him and smiled. "Wanna go on the double date?"

"I already said we are not dating."

"Fine, fine, wanna go _hang out_ with Mokuba-_san _and that annoying little runt?"

"In this scenario, there will be two Kaiba's, and two annoying women. I will pass."

"_Hopkins_ is annoying – that half pint counts as two entire people," Kisara responded with a grin. She poked his shoulder when he didn't respond. "Aw, come on, it'll be fun. Please?"

"Yeah, _Nii-sama_, _please_?" Mokuba teased, receiving an icy stare from his elder brother.

"Fine," he growled, outnumbered two to one. Kisara pumped a fist and Mokuba grinned widely. Now that he had a little inkling that something was going on between his brother and Kisara, Mokuba felt a little better and didn't even think about his crush.

"We could do something more homey, like, cook dinner at home and watch a movie," Mokuba suggested with a shrug.

Kisara smiled, clapping her hands together. "That sounds like fun."

Kaiba just sighed, but didn't say anything, keeping his eyes on the television. He did not wish to waste any more time, but he remembered the conversation he had with Kisara about Mokuba. Perhaps this was a chance for Kaiba to become closer to his younger brother.

Kisara mostly talked to Mokuba in the kitchen as he cooked, and they all sat together on the couch, eating the dinner Mokuba had made. "How are your midterms?" Kisara asked, swallowing her food. "This is delicious, by the way."

"Thanks," Mokuba said with a grin. "It's okay. I had my math midterm today. It's easy, I did calculus in high school, so the class was pretty easy going in."

"That's good," Kisara said, nodding. She made a little face as she took the towel out from her hair, placing it behind her over the couch. "Your friend Hopkins was at my meeting today."

"She's a TA," Mokuba chuckled. "Didn't all the TA's and grad students have to go to the presentation thing today?"

"Yeah," Kisara said, shrugging. "She's doing an operating system."

"Yeah, she told me."

Kisara made a face and shook her head. "I admit that Hopkins is a smart girl, it's just that she's incredibly cocky and it drives me a little nuts."

"I can tell," Mokuba said, laughing. "I'm sure you two will get along during our date."

"It isn't a date," Kaiba said, not looking at either of them, just watching the stocks. But both of them knew that he was listening to the conversation, even if he said he didn't care. "Mokuba, do not let your thoughts about some shrimpy blonde cloud your mind during exam week."

"Don't worry," Mokuba said, waving him off. "We only started taking recently, and she's busy 'cause she's a graduate student, too."

"And she spends 99% of her time being annoying," Kisara added lamely, sticking her tongue out. Mokuba just laughed and Kaiba rolled his eyes, finishing up his meal.

"Hurry up, there shouldn't be too much traffic so I can take you home and have this chapter of this nightmare be over and done with," Kaiba said, standing up. He grabbed his coat from the couch, pulling it over his shoulders.

Kisara lifted her shoulders, grinning sheepishly. "Actually, funny story."

Kaiba turned and narrowed his eyes at her. "I dare you to make me laugh, Ryusei."

"Well," she said, swallowing her food. "I was actually standing in the rain waiting for the bus to take me to a hotel because, you see – here's the funny story – I forgot my keys."

Kaiba was incredulous. "You're kidding. Can you not speak to your landlord about that?"

"That's also a funny story," she said, still grinning. "She's on a trip with her husband until Wednesday. That's why I was going to go to the hotel."

"You barely have enough money to eat and you were going to go to a hotel?" Kaiba asked, sighing exasperatedly. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I thought you were going to stop forgetting things."

"I did buy a planner!" she said, and scooped her bag from the floor. She reached in and pulled out a flowery little book that was wrinkled from being cooped up in a drenched backpack. She smiled and shrugged. "Well, then. That's another funny story."

"You're impossible," Kaiba told her, closing his eyes, trying to calm himself down. "Fine." He took off his coat, tossing it back onto the couch and moving past the two of them to the hallway. "You may stay here but on Wednesday, you go back to your house, grab your keys and talk to your friends about living with them so we don't have this problem ever again. This is a one time thing. You sleep on the couch."

Mokuba raised both eyebrows at his brother's generous offer. Of course, as the host, Kaiba was supposed to have offered his bed, and _Kaiba_ would sleep on the couch, but Mokuba knew that his brother was no where even near being _that _nice yet. However, this was a rather big development. Having a girl sleepover for more than a single night? Mokuba didn't believe it.

Kisara smiled, bowing her head. "Thanks, Seto."

"Shut up and finish your food. Do the dishes, too, since you're leeching off us for the next three days," Kaiba said, heading down the hall into the bathroom for a hot shower to clear his head.

Kisara turned back to her plate, changing the channel on the television to _anime_. She smiled at Mokuba. "Seto is such a nice person."

Sadly, this was actually the first time anyone besides Yugi ever said anything remotely kind about Kaiba. Mokuba was surprised. Even though Kaiba seemed to be yelling at her, insulting her and scolding her, Kisara still thought that he was being kind, and believed that there was a good man underneath Kaiba's cold exterior. Mokuba thought that he was the only one that knew that.

"He is," Mokuba said, smiling gently. He pursed his lips together. "I'm sorry, Kisara."

"Hmm?" she said, turning to face him. "For what?"

"Forgetting you."

Kisara seemed surprised, blinking a few times, and then grinned. "It's okay."

"I don't even know how it happened," Mokuba continued, running a hand through his hair. "I thought you were familiar when we first met but I couldn't recall your name so I assumed we've never met. You were our only friend back at the orphanage. It's so crazy that we meet up again, like, ten years later."

She laughed. "I know. I think it's fate, though."

Mokuba nodded gently. "Yeah, me, too," he said. "How, ah, are your parents?"

"They're wonderful people," Kisara said, still smiling. "My mother is an archeologist. She did a lot of traveling and still does so occasionally. She really loves stuff about ancient Egypt especially, and she can read hieroglyphics like no one's business! My dad works on the IT staff at the community college two towns over, so he helped me a lot when he found out I was interested in computers."

Mokuba grinned. "That's great to hear."

"Yeah, and my brother's great, too. He travels a lot so I don't get to see him too much, but we talk all the time, and I have a younger sister as well. She's still young so she lives with my parents in the suburbs," Kisara added. "We're all adopted; my parents could never have kids so they really wanted to adopt. My brother was adopted from Korea, and my sister is from Australia."

"That's so cool," Mokuba said.

"I've heard a lot of things about you and Seto over the years," Kisara said gently.

Mokuba shrugged, shaking his head awkwardly. It was obvious that he didn't really want to talk about the period of time after being adopted by Kaiba Gozaburo. Even Kisara didn't know all the details; Kaiba was sure to keep most of the details of his childhood with Gozaburo hidden from the media. The only thing that Kisara really knew was that Kaiba overtook Gozaburo in a ruthless buy-out, and figured the only reason the Kaiba Seto she knew would do something like that was out of hatred for Gozaburo. The Kaiba Seto that Kisara knew was a kind person, but it seemed that something inside him had changed from ten years ago. "We've both worked really hard to become stronger since that time."

"I'm glad," Kisara said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And for what it's worth, I think you've both grown up wonderfully."

Mokuba grinned at her kind words. "Thanks," he said. "Oh, so, can I call you _Nee-san_, since you're dating my big brother and all?" he stuck out his tongue jokingly as Kisara choked back laughter.

"You heard the man, we're not dating," she said, taking another bite of her food. "I also think Seto might pop a vein if you ever called me _Nee-san_. Even if you called me _'aneki' _I think he might destroy the city with his bare hands, and then punch me in the face."

Mokuba chuckled at her playful jokes. Mokuba got annoyed at Jou's constant jabs at Kaiba, but Kisara was merely teasing for sport and it made the younger Kaiba happy that someone could make fun of Kaiba with good intentions.

Together, Mokuba and Kisara washed the dishes, chatting about school and other things. Kisara was funny and quirky, cute and very sweet – the exact opposite of Kaiba, but Mokuba felt in his gut that maybe Yugi was right; maybe it was fate that Kisara meet with Kaiba in this lifetime.

Kaiba emerged from the shower, his hair still slightly wet and he plopped back onto the couch, dressed in a plain black cotton shirt and a pair of white athletic pants with a blue stripe going down both legs. He changed the channel back to the news. He flicked his eyes to Kisara, who was sitting at the island in the kitchen. "Go brush your hair."

She grinned, hopping off the barstool, making her way towards the hallway. Kaiba flung her towel over her head. "Take that back and throw it in the laundry," he told her, and she nodded under the towel, pulling it off her head and heading back into the bathroom. He sighed, rubbing his temples.

"I was thinking we could have our dinner it this Friday after I study," Mokuba said, plopping down next to his brother.

"That's fine."

"Kisara should just stay the whole week, since I have tutoring on Thursday, too, and she'll be coming over on Friday," Mokuba suggested, knowing his brother's answer already.

"No."

Kisara came back out, her hair brushed and dried, sitting next to Kaiba cross-legged, her knee nudging his leg. The small physical contact sent a spark flying up Kaiba's spine but he chose to ignore it. After some time, Mokuba asked to watch television for a bit before studying, so Kaiba had to relinquish the remote to let Mokuba and Kisara watch a rerun of some anime they both loved, leaving Kaiba to retreat to his room.

He climbed into his bed, staring at the ceiling. It felt like five minutes, but when he looked at the clock, it was past two in the morning, the storm still raging outside. He glanced at the door, a dim light seeping in through the crack. Mokuba normally studied well and was done before midnight.

Kaiba swept his long legs over the side of the bed, pulling open his door. Kisara was sitting on the couch still, in some spare blankets and pillows. She was curled up, playing something on her computer, the blankets wrapped around her. She looked up for a second upon hearing Kaiba come into the living room. "What are you doing?" he asked, realizing she was merely playing a game of chess at two in the morning. The television was on, quietly playing a late night slap-stick comedy show that she wasn't paying attention to.

"Can't sleep," she said tiredly, stifling a yawn. She moved her knight.

"You're a bad liar," Kaiba told her. "Go to sleep. You're shining light into my room. And you have school tomorrow."

"Thanks, Mom," she said teasingly, sticking her tongue out at him.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, realizing something. "Are you _afraid_ of thunderstorms?"

"No," she said, making a face at him.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Are you telling me that you're going to stay up all night and wait for the storm to pass and drag along tomorrow?"

"That's the jist of it," she said, her knight being taken by the computer's queen. She yawned again, not seeming to care, and took the computer's queen with her own. "My brother used to stay up with me when there was a storm. And back in California, I'd play video games all night anyway."

Kaiba sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He picked up the remote and flicked the television off. "Turn your computer off. Come to bed," he told her, heading back to his room. She paused for a moment, and did what she was told, turning off her computer and following the sound of Kaiba's footsteps in the dark towards the end of the hall where his room was. She carried her pillows and blankets as well, lopping them on Kaiba's floor. She curled up in them as he shut the door.

"What are you doing?" he asked her again.

"Lying down," she said from under the blanket. She was still hiding away.

"Get _on _the bed, idiot." He stepped over her onto his bed and Kisara pulled the blankets down. She climbed atop the mattresses cautiously as though Kaiba were going to physically kick her or something, but he didn't, the king-sized bed more than enough room for the both of them.

Kaiba slept on the far left side, and flipped over, his back facing her, leaving Kisara to the right, hiding under the covers as the storm raged outside. Kaiba turned his head ever so slightly to see her cowering away and sighed exasperatedly. "Stop."

"Eeeh?" she said quietly from under the blankets, her voice muffled. "I'm not doing anything.

Kisara felt Kaiba's arms drag her across the bed and the warmth of his chest against her face from over the blankets. She froze, not knowing what to do. "Go to sleep," Kaiba told her, as though answering her question.

"You're so warm," she told him quietly, snuggling into his body. She lifted the covers off her head to wrap her arms around his waist, her tiny frame fitting right into his, her face cradled between his neck and collarbone.

For the first time, Kaiba didn't know what to do. He had never done this before with a woman – lie in bed together, _cuddling_. While her body seemed to have relaxed despite the storm outside, Kaiba found himself not understanding what the next step in this process of 'cuddling' seemed to be. Did he go to sleep now? Did they talk? He just wanted to her to stop being afraid of the storm and sleep so that she wouldn't throw off her sleeping schedule.

How did Kisara think that Kaiba could sleep with her so close to him? He had expected her to stay under the blankets and it wouldn't be that bad; the sheet between them would serve as a barrier so their body heats wouldn't meld, but now her slender arms were around him as well.

"Do you want to make out?"

"_What_?" Kaiba asked, shocked at her sudden question. Kisara giggled, pushing his chest gently with one hand.

"Just kidding. Don't be so tense. It's only me."

"You speak as though we are friends."

"We are friends, though, aren't we?" Kisara asked, lifting her face to stare at him.

Kaiba wasn't sure what to say. She had asked this before, but he still didn't understand the concept. They certainly were two people who knew each other – now and in the past – and they were colleagues but frequently spent time together outside of work. Did that make Kaiba and Kisara _friends_? "I don't know," he answered quietly, honestly.

But Kisara just smiled, pleased with his answer as though expecting a flat out no. She snuggled closer to him and Kaiba felt his body tense. At this intimate distance, she could feel his heart beating. He prayed it wasn't racing.

Kisara's breathing seemed to match his, and Kaiba eventually found his body relaxing a little. "I'm really proud of the man that you've become," she said quietly, bringing Kaiba out from falling asleep. He thought she had passed out already.

He shifted slightly to speak to her. "What are you talking about?"

Kaiba felt Kisara shrug her petite shoulders. "I think you've turned out to be an amazing person, Seto. I'm happy that we met again."

Kaiba swallowed a lump in his throat. That was the first time anyone had ever said anything genuinely kind to him. He felt his chest tighten at the incredible compliment. Was this what it felt like to be…cared for? Appreciated? Kaiba didn't understand the feeling. The only person that ever stood behind him was Mokuba and even then, Mokuba didn't say those kinds of things to him, and Mokuba had been with Kaiba his whole life. Kisara had been in Kaiba's life for nearly three months.

How could she say something like that when she didn't even know him? Perhaps she was just being polite because he was letting her stay over and sleep in his bed. Yes; that had to be it. She was naturally a kind person and so it was only natural for her to say kind things, even if she didn't mean them.

"You don't need to lie," Kaiba told her.

Kisara pulled away, looking up at him. Even in the darkness, Kaiba could still make out the electric blue of her eyes, burning with concern. "What? You don't…think I mean that?"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes, annoyed that she was trying to put up a front. Every person in this world was alone; Kaiba had to learn that the hard way and Kisara pretending that that wasn't true was annoying. "Why would you?"

"Why _wouldn't_ I?" she asked, furrowing her brows in confusion. "You've been so wonderful to me, I can't even express my gratitude. How can you not believe that I think that you're a good person?"

"Because I know I'm not," Kaiba snapped, sitting up. He inhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose as Kisara pushed herself up from the bed as well, placing a hand on his shoulder. He brushed her off immediately. "Inviting you in here was a mistake. Get out now."

"No," Kisara said, inching closer to him. "Seto."

"I said get out," he told her, quietly this time as not to awake Mokuba in the room over.

"And I said no," the silver haired woman said. "I don't think you're a bad person at all, Seto. Not even a little."

"Spare me your pity talk," Kaiba told her, shrugging her away. "Get out of my room."

"Stop being so stubborn," she said, leaning closer to him. Instinctively, Kaiba moved away. Normally when he pushed people away, they just left without another word, but she was so persistant. "It's possible that good people make bad decisions sometimes and that's totally understandable. I mean, I've done some things I'm not proud of, too, but I don't think that makes me a bad person, and I don't think that a few mistakes will make you a bad person either, Seto. I can't even begin to imagine how it must have been for you growing up and how it is to be the president of a multi-billion dollar company, but I do know that you are definitely an amazing human being. I believe that. With every inch and fiber of my being. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here right now with you, right?"

Kaiba sat quietly, massaging his temples, focusing on breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Ignore the beautiful woman sitting by his side spouting rainbows and unicorns about how he was a good person. _Ignore her_.

But Kaiba couldn't. He couldn't ignore her, not when she said things like that, not when she treated him like a real human being. "You really think that?" he asked her finally, his voice low.

He felt the bed shake a little as Kisara nodded. "I believe it." Kaiba was quiet, not knowing what to say, but Kisara always seemed to know what to do in these situations. Gently, she cupped his face and turned it towards her, placing a soft kiss on his lips. It was small, just a little peck, but it made all the difference in the world. She pulled back and smiled, tapping him on the nose. "You should believe that, too."

Kaiba scoffed, inhaling deeply as he laid back down in bed. Kisara was cuddled against him immediately, her arm over his waist. He could feel her smiling against his chest as she took some kind of comfort in his warmth. Kaiba tightened his grip on her ever so slightly. "Thank you."


	13. Chapter 13: It's A Date

Kisara woke up alone.

She hadn't expected anything else, but she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when Kaiba ripped off the covers and she looked up through lidded eyes and he was completely dressed for work. "Get up. Mokuba did your laundry, you can wear the same clothes to school; I'll take you to get an extra shirt or something after tutoring. Go shower and get ready."

"Okay," she said with a yawn, stretching out her arms. Her hair was slightly tousled and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Kisara managed to drag herself into the bathroom.

She showered quickly, glancing at the clock in the bathroom as she put on her clothes from yesterday. She flew out from the bathroom, snatching her backpack from the couch. She bowed to Kaiba and Mokuba who were eating toast and watching the morning news. It was still raining outside from the storm. "Sorry, but I have to go, the train leaves in like, ten minutes!"

Kaiba didn't look at her. "Are you stupid? I have to take Mokuba to school, so I might as well drop you off there as well. Sit down and eat breakfast."

Kisara blinked several times. "Really?"

"Why do you always question me when I offer you something?" Kaiba asked, finally looking at her. "If I offer it, then just accept it without questions, otherwise I will change my mind."

Kisara flashed him a smile, sitting next to him on the couch. She plucked a slice of toast from his plate. "Thanks," she said, and peered over at Mokuba. "_Ohayou_."

Mokuba chuckled. "_Ohayou gozaimasu_."

Kaiba rolled his eyes at their greeting and continued to watch the news in silence. Kisara and Mokuba chatted about something but Kaiba wasn't too interested in the conversation. He had woken up this morning and immediately jumped into the shower. He couldn't glance at Kisara sleeping a mere foot away from him. He didn't want to dare laying his eyes upon her when she looked so peaceful. Kaiba felt himself becoming more and more drawn to her as the days passed and knew that this sort of attitude needed to stop. He couldn't become distracted by the whims of some silver haired woman.

"Let's go," Kaiba told the two younger people in his house as he stood up and tossed the plate covered in crumbs into the sink. He shrugged on his coat and Mokuba and Kisara followed him out the door, still talking about something that Kaiba wasn't listening to.

"Uh, _Nii-sama_?" Mokuba's voice asked, and Kaiba turned slightly, unlocking the car. Mokuba practically dove into the backseat, forcing Kisara to take the front with the elder Kaiba. He didn't seem to care, however, and started the car.

"What is it?"

"Later this weekend, let's go to Kaiba Land," Kisara said excitedly, clapping her hands together. "Sunday, maybe? Everyone can come! It'll be great! My first time at Kaiba Land, I'm so excited!"

"You have other friends you can do that with," Kaiba said, keeping his eyes on the road. "I am already giving up one day of my weekend to spend with you and that annoying Hopkins girl so do not expect me to take another day off. I also do not understand why you think you're off the hook either. There is a deadline next week."

"I know," Kisara said, nodding. "I'll work on it after Kaiba Land. I'd really like it if you'd come."

"Absolutely not," Kaiba replied. "You seem to not understand that I have no time for you."

"Okay, well we're going at around noon if you change your mind," she said, still smiling.

"I assure you that will definitely not happen."

Kisara just laughed slightly as though Kaiba were being silly, and Kaiba rolled her eyes at her impervious attitude. This weekend, Kaiba needed to force himself to remain focused. After Mokuba's little dinner at the house, it was back to work and Kaiba didn't want anymore distractions, especially not from the woman sitting next to him.

Kaiba pulled up to the school again, scowling at Yugi and friends as they were near the gate hanging out before class. "Thanks, _Nii-sama_," Mokuba said, pushing open the door. He stepped out, closing it behind him and waiting for Kisara.

"Oh, yes, thank you, _Nii-sama_," Kisara piped teasingly, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her side of the car. She stepped out, but seemed to be forgetting something, and poked back into the vehicle. She smiled brightly. "Have a lovely day, Seto."

"I will pick you up at twelve thirty for lunch."

Kisara smiled. She decided not to ask any questions for him to reconfirm his offer. "That sounds great. I'll be here. Bye, Seto."

Kaiba merely scoffed in response as she closed the door. He waited for her to reach Mokuba and Yugi and friends before speeding off. Yugi could only blink several times. "Hey, Kisara-_san_," he greeted, hoping that his friends weren't looking at the silver haired woman too awkwardly either.

"Hi," she said, grinning.

"You, ah, stayed over Kaiba's place," Jonouchi said, not really asking, just stating what he was seeing – and in a rather distasteful tone at that. Kisara knew that Jonouchi didn't particularly like Kaiba and was very adamant on telling Kisara to stay away from him.

But she couldn't. She was drawn to him. She could only hope that he enjoyed spending time with her just as much as she enjoyed her time with him, even if it was scarce. "Oh, no, it's nothing like that," she said, waving her hands. "I forgot my keys at home and it was raining and ah, long story short, he was just being nice, that's all."

"Nice?" Jonouchi scoffed. "That bastard ain't got a nice bone in his body."

Kisara laughed, waving him off. "Oh, come on now," she said, following them through the gates. "I think Seto is a wonderful person."

Mokuba was actually extremely happy that someone besides Yugi was standing up for his brother. Jonouchi and Honda normally made some wildly colorful jabs at Kaiba Seto, as the two of them didn't particularly like Kaiba, but Yugi always assured them that Kaiba wasn't 'that bad', which would receive scoffs in response. But now that Kisara was speaking up for Kaiba, Mokuba felt like it would be a little easier for Jonouchi to harbor a little less animosity.

"Mokuba," said a voice, and the group turned to see a petite blonde approaching them. Her hair was straight, falling over her shoulders, her blue eyes blazing in the morning sun. "Didn't you want to get help on homework? You told me to come to school early and you're here ten minutes before class."

"Oh, well, he doesn't need you because _I_ helped him last night," Kisara piped, stepping up. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at the younger girl, trying to muster an angry expression. "You must have fallen asleep while texting – I'm sure little toddlers like yourself still have a bedtime."

Jonouchi raised his eyebrows at this, actually chuckling. No one had seen Kisara become even the slightest bit hostile towards anyone. Rebecca, however, seemed to be the exception.

"I don't remember having included you in this conversation, Ryusei," Rebecca responding, snapping her hands to her hips.

"Oh, right, because you're still learning how to talk. It's okay, sweetie pie, it's _a, ka, sa, ta, na, ya, ma, ra, wa_," Kisara said, ticking off each of the consonants of the Japanese alphabet on her fingers, and then she added in English, "oh, or twenty-six letters in America."

"Mokuba, it boggles my mind why you want to spend your time with a disgustingly immature creature like this woman," Rebecca retorted, speaking to Mokuba, but locking eyes with Kisara.

"Mokuba-_san_, what boggles my mind is that you never struck me to be a cradle robber. I'm not sure if Seto would approve of having a two year old child crying in the penthouse."

"Oh, well, then maybe _you_ shouldn't go to Mokuba's house anymore."

Kisara merely burst out in sarcastic laughter. "I was obviously speaking about you, kiddo. Or does widdo baby not understand?"

"Actually," Mokuba said, standing between them. He resisted the urge to laugh, and peered over at Yugi and friends, who were also snickering slightly. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over on Friday, Rebecca."

"What? What for?" she asked, sounding totally thrown off, a bright red tint coloring her cheeks.

"For dinner," Mokuba said, surprising everyone. Yugi tilted his head. It seemed like Mokuba had a crush on Kisara, but now he seemed totally uninterested in the silver haired woman and was now asking out the younger blonde. "It'll be great, we can cook together and watch a movie."

"I-I'll think about it, but I'm not making any promises!" Rebecca said, running a hand through her hair as she flushed. "I'm going to go work on my project. _Jaa mata_, Mokuba."

"Bye," he said with a grin as she passed in a huff, completely forgetting about Kisara. He looked up at her and flashed her a thumbs up. "Sweet."

Kisara just hummed in disapproval, crossing her arms over her chest and letting out a huge sigh. "That girl drives me nuts."

"Well, you're gonna have to try and get along," Mokuba teased.

"Hmm? What's goin' on, Mokuba?" Jonouchi asked, ever the nosy lad.

Mokuba grinned proudly. "Double date this weekend."

The group exchanged glances and Kisara sprung into action. "Oh, no, silly Mokuba-_san_, it's nothing like that," she said, waving her hands. Although Kaiba said it was okay to tell Yugi and friends about their dinners alone, she wasn't sure if the brown haired man would particularly appreciate this sort of story-telling. The last thing Kisara wanted was for Kaiba to explode again. The mood swing at the demo had been compensated with a kiss and another date, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to be cussed out again. "It's ah, just sort of a friendly thing, Kaiba-_shachou _and I are only friends, so it's nothing out of the ordinary!"

Mokuba raised an eyebrow. He was fairly certain that Kisara and Kaiba had shared a bed last night and they certainly seemed to have spent time together before, so why was she dodging the fact that this weekend was a double date? She had even said it in the penthouse last night.

Jonouchi scoffed. "Please, Kaiba, _friends_? Doubt it."

Kisara waved him off, laughing a little. "Oh, be nice. He's really great, you know, if you would just get to know him a little."

"I'll pass, thanks," Jonouchi said, making a face.

"Oh, yeah, I wanted to ask you guys. Do you guys know anyone that needs a roommate?" Kisara asked, glancing at her watch to make sure she wasn't going to be late for her TA class. "I live really far and I think if I lived closer I would be able to hang out more, and it'd be easier for me to get around, and a lot cheaper."

"Actually, great timing, Kisara-_san_, Jonouchi and I are looking for a roommate," Honda said, sounding surprised. "We copped this really great apartment but it's a little pricey. We were gonna put up ads next week. And what with Yugi and Anzu living together now, and Bakura already owning a place, we didn't have another choice. You can stay with us if you want."

"Really?" Kisara said, shocked. She hadn't expected the timing to be this fantastic. "That's great! I'll definitely move in as soon as possible, if that's okay."

"Totally," Honda assured her.

"Woah, Kisara-_san_, are you sure you want to live with these two bozos?" Anzu said, holding up a hand in skepticism.

"Oy, oy, we ain't bozos. We'd be the best roommates ever!" Jonouchi piped. "You should definitely come live wit' us. It'd be fun!"

"Oh, I would love to," she said, clapping her hands together. "But please make sure that your girlfriends know that I'll be living there. Make sure you tell Mai!" she pointed a Jonouchi with her cheeks puffed. "I'm not moving in if Mai is uncomfortable with it."

"Yeah, I'll tell her, don't worry!" Jonouchi said, waving her off. "She won't mind, Mai's super cool."

"Okay," Kisara said, sounding relieved. She glanced down at her watch again. "Okay, awesome, we'll definitely talk more about this later. Thanks so much Jonouchi-_san_, Honda-_san. _Let's go to class, Mokuba-_san_."

"Okay, see you guys later," Mokuba said, waving to his friends and following Kisara. Did Kisara not want Yugi guys to know that slowly – but surely – her relationship with Kaiba Seto was deepening? Mokuba wondered if his brother told Kisara not to say anything about it, and jogged to catch up with her. "What was with that back there?"

Kisara ran a hand through her hair. "What are you talking about?"

"You told Yugi guys that it wasn't a double date this weekend. But it is, though, isn't it?" Mokuba asked, raising an eyebrow. "You said so last night, too."

"I did," Kisara said, remembering. She smiled sheepishly. "But Seto and I really are just friends and it really…isn't anything out of the ordinary. He just couldn't say no because you asked him. I don't want Yugi guys to get the wrong idea."

"Now that's wildly untrue," Mokuba scoffed, but Kisara didn't look convinced. "Look, this weekend will be fun! I think _Nii-sama _likes hanging out with you."

Kisara smiled sweetly. "Really?"

The younger Kaiba nodded. "Really."

"Thanks," Kisara said as they entered the classroom. "Now go pay attention!"

* * *

><p>Kisara stood outside the gate at school, adjusting her backpack. All the papers inside had been ruined but it was fine. Today had been another lab class, so she had worked on the school's computers anyway.<p>

"Kisa-_chan_!" she heard Jonouchi call, and turned to see the blonde running towards her with Honda in tow. She checked the time quickly. Kaiba would be here soon to pick her up.

"Hey," she said, smiling.

"Mokuba said you ran off, but I wanted to talk to you about moving in," Honda said with a grin. "Are you free tomorrow?"

"I work tomorrow," Kisara said sheepishly.

Jonouchi scoffed. "Eh? You can't ask Kaiba for a day off to move your stuff? The longer you stay in your other place, the more you gotta pay. Between school an' workin', when're you gonna have the time to move?"

"It's okay," she said, waving him off.

"What about Thursday, then?" Honda suggested.

"After lunch, Mokuba-_san _and I have tutoring," she giggled and the two boys sighed.

"Okay, how about you have lunch with us, and then we'll move all your stuff, and then you can tutor Mokuba at our place?" Jonouchi piped.

Kisara shook her hand. "Can't do that. Maybe after tutoring?"

"We're busy at around six," Jonouchi said scratching his head.

Honda snickered. "Jou's got somethin' with Mai, and Shizuka and I are having dinner."

"Okay, you can move in Thursday, though, right?" Jonouchi said, digging around in his bag, trying to ignore the fact that Honda said something about going to dinner with Jonouchi's younger sister Shizuka.

"I'm free after tutoring, but—"

"Here," Jonouchi said, tossing her a little key. Honda pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket, handing it to her. "That's the address, too, you should move in on Thursday night. Sorry we won't be able to help. Maybe ask Yugi or something?"

"Oh, wow, thank you," Kisara said, grinning at both of them. She was surprised at how everything was working out. She tucked both items into her pocket and bowed politely. "Thank you so much."

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it," Jonouchi said, waving her off. "How about you have lunch with us today and celebrate?"

However, at that moment, a black Lexus pulled up in front of the gate. "Sorry, but I can't," Kisara said with another bow, turning on her heels to scurry around to the passenger side of the car. The windows were tinted, but Jonouchi recognized that car anywhere.

"Is that Kaiba?" he asked Honda quietly and Honda shrugged. The car sped off, answering Jonouchi's question.

"Hi," Kisara greeted, buckling her seatbelt and glancing at Kaiba.

"What are you doing hanging with those two imbeciles?" Kaiba asked flatly, eyes on the road.

"They're my friends," she said with a smile. "They're nice people. We should all hang out together at Kaiba Land."

"I'll pass," Kaiba told her. "How was school?"

Kisara smiled. Kaiba was getting a little better at conversation, and this made her happy. "The same – good. How was work?"

"The same."

The silver haired woman laughed lightly. "You mean, totally boring without me there?"

"Definitely not."

"Thanks for picking me up today."

"How else would you eat? The last thing I need is you fainting and going to the hospital and missing more days of work."

Kisara grinned and the two of them drove in a comfortable silence all the way to Tsuki's, where Kisara ordered her usual soybeans andn soda, and Kaiba ordered nothing. "Don't you have exams coming up?" Kaiba asked as Kisara just seemed to be reading and surfing the internet.

"I have one, but that's all. It's easy, so I study on and off," she said as she waved him off. "I've been doing computers for a really long time, this stuff is like general knowledge. I just want a Master's Degree that says so."

"I'm not going to fire you," Kaiba told her again. "There's no need to attend school. Should you drop your class, you would be working a little more at Kaiba Corp, but that will be to pay off your loans and your rent, so you do not need to ask your brother for financial assistance. You don't need to waste time at school."

"I want to go to school, though," she assured him. Of course, she ended her little snippet of conversation with a joke. "I know you miss me when I'm not at work, but school is important, too, Seto."

Kaiba scoffed as a response and Kisara just laughed. She really did enjoy his company and was glad that he seemed to be at least like being with her a little bit. "Oh, yeah, I found a new place to live."

Kaiba glanced up form his newspaper at this. "With one of your friends?"

Kisara nodded happily. "Yeah, I'm moving in on Thursday," she told him. "It's closer to school and work, so it's awesome."

"Good," Kaiba told her with a brief nod. "Be sure to speak to your landlord to see if you may pull out from your lease, as some places have a certain time constraint for staying on the lease to rent the apartment."

"Oh okay," she said with a nod. She grinned. "Now you can come over to my house and hang out."

"Highly unlikely," Kaiba told her. "We are coworkers."

"And friends. Friends hang out," she said, still smiling. "We can hang out at my new apartment and watch T.V. and stuff."

Kaiba furrowed his brows. "You consider that hanging out? Sitting and watching television?"

"Yeah," she said with a shrug. "Or playing video games, 'cause, you know, I'd totally smoke you."

"I own a gaming company. I can assure you that you will not stand a chance against me in any kind of game."

"I'm a game programmer," Kisara countered playfully. "And I can assure you that I am awesome."

Kaiba scoffed. "We'll see."

"So, you'll come over?" Kisara asked, smiling.

"We are already spending time together this weekend."

"Well, yeah, I mean you can come over after the weekend is done. Like, next week," she suggested. "It'll be a date."

The brown haired man merely scoffed again. "In case you missed the memo, you and I are not dating."

"Yeah, I know," she said with a light shrug. "But we do go on dates."

"We have dinner a coworkers," Kaiba told her. "That is hardly a date. We have been on one date – that first one – and that is all."

"So this weekend can be our second date. Or, well, our first double date," Kisara said with a smile. "I really like going on dates with you."

Kaiba turned his eyes back to his paper. How was it even legal for her to say such sweet things that made Kaiba fluster in the slightest? For someone to enjoy his company? That was completely unheard of, but Kisara said it like it wasn't a big deal. However, despite himself, after last night's little pep talk, Kaiba couldn't help but believe that she really meant what she just said. So, in return, he said this: "Fine. Friday night is a double date and we may go again on a date next week at your new apartment."

Kaiba watched Kisara's face light up with his words and found himself not regretting having said it at all. "Really? Okay, that's great! How about Thursday after tutoring? We can catch dinner and go to my new place."

"Fine," Kaiba told her. "It's a date."


	14. Chapter 14: Luxuries

Kisara tucked away a plain white t-shirt and a pair of cheap sweatpants she had bought at a department store that Kaiba had taken her to. She was staying for another night and needed a new set of sleeping clothes. She had no idea what she was going to do for work tomorrow, but decided it was best to deal with that later.

Until, of course, Kaiba asked. "If you have no access to your apartment, what is it that you will be wearing tomorrow at work? I _forbid you _from wearing a shirt and sweatpants into my company building and if you even _think_ of suggesting wearing those, I will have no choice but to punch your face."

Kisara giggled. "I dunno. Can I not work tomorrow?"

"You really must have lost your mind," Kaiba told her with a shake of his head. "You realize that there is a deadline next week and you have already taken one day off this week."

"I do," she said, nodding. "But sweatpants and a shirt are all I have, so, yeah, guess I can't work tomorrow."

Kaiba sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You're impossible."

"Not," she responded lamely, sticking her tongue out at him as his Lexus left the parking lot. Mokuba was at home preparing dinner after tutoring, so Kaiba decided to take Kisara out now.

Kaiba swung down the road, taking a detour before heading home. And, as he expected, Kisara asked, "Where are we going?"

"Why do you always ask questions? Next time I drive you somewhere, shall I blindfold and gag you so that you have the right to ask those kinds of needless questions?"

"Oh, no, I'm sorry, Seto, but I'm not that kinky," she teased, receiving an eyeroll from the older man. But she didn't say anything else besides giggle to herself, allowing Kaiba to drive in silence. He slammed into a parking stall in another lot, killing the engine. He swept out of the car and Kisara did the same, following him into a brightly lit store.

"Ah, Kaiba-_sama_," greeted an elderly man with a smile. He adjusted his glasses, and Kisara noticed a tape measure around his neck. "How may I help you today?"

Kaiba jerked a thumb at the woman beside him. "Get her into something presentable. I have had enough of her coming to work dressed like a retail worker at the local mall."

The older man blinked slightly as though confused. But then he smiled at Kisara, holding out his hand for you shake. "My name is Saito Shouta, it is very nice to meet you, ah…"

"Kisara," she said, taking his hand gently. She turned to Kaiba, furrowing her brows. "What are we doing here?"

Kaiba sighed. "Do you listen when I speak or does it go in one ear and out the other? Saito, fit her into something and answer her questions. Good luck, as this insane woman never stops talking. It will literally drive you up the walls once she opens that gargantuan mouth of hers."

"Yes, sir," Saito said with a bow, leading a giggling Kisara away. Kaiba followed, turning away slightly as Saito started to take Kisara's measurements. He didn't need to know this information, or need to see the action. After some time of Kisara standing still and holding out her arms when told, Saito said, "I'll be right back, Kisara-_sama_," and disappeared into the backroom.

Kisara flanked Kaiba, glancing around. It was an extremely high end tailor shop with the finest looking suit jackets and slacks handing from the wall for both men and women. All the workers were pristinely dressed – Kisara looked out of place in jeans and a shirt from yesterday.

Saito reappeared with a coat and a skirt, handing it to Kisara. "Please try these on," he said, ushering her into the dressing room.

"Oh, no, I really can't even get into these clothes," Kisara said, waving her hands. "If I touch them I feel like I'm just going to die from the amount of money that they cost."

"I didn't say you were paying for them," Kaiba snapped. "Now listen to Saito and try on the damn suit."

Before Kisara could say anything she was hurried into a stall, the door shut behind her. Kaiba rubbed the bridge of his nose, not even believing that he was doing this. Saito and the other workers didn't seem to believe it either, trying to look busy as they also tried not to watch the amazing fairy tale-like story unfold before them.

Kaiba turned when the door opened, seeing Kisara emerge. She black coat jacket fit her nicely, sleeves falling right to her wrist, and the black skirt was sleek, but appropriate for work. She had also been given a blouse and pumps to wear as well. She brushed her hair back and Kaiba couldn't help but find her extremely adorable, even in a crisp suit.

What the _hell_ was wrong with him?

"This is cool," she said, glancing in the mirror. She turned around, examing herself in the new outfit.

"Do you like it?" Kaiba asked, making his way over to her. He adjusted her coat for her a little and turned her to the mirror again. Kisara nodded, and opened her mouth as though to say something like '_but it's too expensive_', so Kaiba beat her to the punch. "Get me three sets of this exact outfit right now, in beige, white, and navy," he told Saito. He gestured around, pointing vaguely at different things – a light blue colored blouse and two different dresses. "The shoes in every color and the blouse and dresses, too, in her size."

"Seto, what are you doing?" she asked panickedly, waving her hands. "Don't get any of that stuff!" she said to Saito as he and the other workers went to go and pick out the things that Kaiba demanded. They seemed troubled, slowing in their strides as though waiting for another order from the CEO.

"What are you waiting for?" he snapped. "Grab all of it, _right now_."

"I can't afford this stuff!" Kisara said, making a face. "I'll figure something out for tomorrow, I'll ask Anzu or something—"

"I highly doubt Mazaki has anything even remotely appropriate for work; she is a _dancer_, is she not? While coming to work in a shirt and sweat pants is unacceptable, coming in a leotard and tights will buy you a one-way ticket straight to Hell," Kaiba told her. "I will be taking care of the expenses for your wardrobe adjustment."

"There is no way I can pay you back for all of this stuff. Put back the dress!" Kisara said to one of the workers who was hurrying a dress to the register.

"Don't listen to her. Grab it or I'm going to have you fired," Kaiba threatened. He turned back to Kisara. "I do not recall asking you for reimburstment."

"But—"

"Stop arguing," Kaiba told her, sweeping past her to the register, where all the items he requested were waiting. The cashier began ringing them up but Kisara was not done protesting.

"Please," she said, tugging on his jacket. "I can't even begin to start paying you back for this. Plus there's still the dress I owe you for. I'm not a millionaire, you know! I work part-time and I'm a part-time grad student living in a crappy apartment with a rent I can't even afford. I can't pay for these kinds of luxuries!"

"Then let me pay for it," Kaiba told her, sliding over a credit card. Kisara nearly had a heart attack from seeing the total flash on a screen. "Pay for our dinner at your apartment next week and we will call it even."

"That is no where close to even," Kisara complained, covering her eyes as though stressing out. She seemed to be mentally flailing and Kaiba sighed, taking the bags from the cashier. He shoved them into her hands and moved past her to the exit. "Thank you," she told him, clutching the bags and bowing as low as she could.

"Stop embarrassing yourself. Let's go home," he told her, leaving the shop. Kisara quickly bowed and thanked everyone in the store before scurrying out to catch up with Kaiba, still dressed in the suit. She was given a bag with her old clothes and tucked it along with her other bags, following him to the car.

"You didn't have to do that," she said quietly, sounding guilty as though she had just performed a crime by accepting all the clothes Kaiba had purchased for her. "I could have just asked someone else."

"Consider it a part of your deal for working for me," Kaiba said, clicking a button on his keys to unlock the car. "You now have no excuse to not dress appropriately. At least wear a blazer every day. You have four colors to choose from, and I am not expecting you to pay me back. This is a one-time thing."

Kisara helped put all of the clothes into the trunk and slid into the passenger seat. She flashed Kaiba the sweetest smile and for some reason, he felt like the hundreds of dollars he just spent was completely worth the smile he just received. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you so much, Seto."

"Whatever," he said, averting his eyes as the car rumbled to life beneath them.

* * *

><p>Kisara woke up alone again, the covers being ripped off her, followed by Kaiba snapping something at her, to which she yawned and sat up, stretching her arms. Kaiba allowed her to share his bed again last night, but he didn't put his arm around her or anything like that, as the storm had subsided into a mere drizzle. He slept with his back facing her and got out of bed quietly to shower before she was even remotely conscious.<p>

"Mmm, Seto," she called, still slightly groggy. He was about to leave, but he turned at the sound of his name being used. Kisara was the only person in the world to ever use his first name, but to be completely honest, Kaiba didn't mind.

"What?" he snapped, shrugging on his suit jacket as he stepped towards her.

She stood up and tugged on his tie a little, kissing him very lightly on the lips. "Good morning," she said with a smile, dancing around him and into the bathroom. Kaiba was actually grateful for her disappearing act, as he found himself blushing furiously from just the small gesture. How was she allowed to do such cute things?

He cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair as he made his way to the living room, where Mokuba was eating a bowl of cereal and watching the morning _anime_. "You okay?" he asked his elder brother who slipped into the kitchen to make toast.

"Yeah," he answered flatly, sighing and leaning on the counter. "That woman needs to get out of my house," he said quietly.

"Nah, admit it, you guys have fun together," Mokuba teased, gesturing the bags and bags of clothes piled near the kitchen counter. Mokuba was shocked that Kaiba would buy Kisara so many things without asking for anything in return. He also knew that Kaiba tended to cover up the nice things he did for others with sarcastic remarks and Mokuba wondered what kind of excuse Kaiba had told Kisara that allowed him to buy her four new sets of hand-tailored suits, two blouses, and two one-of-a-kind dresses.

Kaiba scoffed. "That is wildly untrue," he responded, hearing the water in the bathroom shut off as Kisara finished her brief morning shower. Before he could take a bag with her clothes for the day and whip it at her face, Kisara emerged from the bathroom, hair still wet and wrapped in Kaiba's towel again.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, staring at her incredulously.

Mokuba kept his eyes on the television, chuckling as his brother became flustered. Mokuba didn't understand why – as he knew that Kaiba had seen many girls naked many times before – he seemed to be uncomfortable with Kisara in a towel. It was actually amusing.

"I forgot to bring my clothes," Kisara said, making a move to reach down and grab a bag near the door.

"Stop!" Kaiba said, coming around to the counter. "Are you stupid? Why didn't you just wear your other clothes out to grab these ones?"

"Because this is faster," she said, tightening her grip around the towel. Kaiba scooped up a random bag and shoved it into her hands.

"Go and change!"

"Okay, okay, sorry," she laughed, hopping back into the bathroom and shutting the door.

"No common sense. It's like she's two fucking years old," Kaiba muttered to himself as his toast popped out. He stuck two more slices of bread in, letting out an exasperated sigh. "I swear that one of these days, I will kill her."

Mokuba laughed, shaking his head. "You're funny, _Nii-sama_."

"Has that annoying woman brainwashed you into thinking that I make jokes now?" Kaiba asked, furrowing his brows, and Mokuba just laughed again, shaking his head, leaving his elder brother to mumble curse words to himself.

"Ta-da!" Kisara announced as she came back out from the bathroom. She had dried her hair and tied it nicely over her shoulder, and she was dressed in the white suit with the blue blouse. She grinned down at herself. "These are so cute. I love them. Thanks again, Seto."

"Shut up and eat your toast," Kaiba told her, setting the pieces of bread on a plate. He slid past her to sit on the couch and eat his own breakfast.

"Did you make me breakfast today?" she asked, making her way into the kitchen.

"What?" Kaiba asked, turning his head.

"Oh, you did! Thank you!" she said, taking the plate with her into the living room. Kaiba hadn't even realized that he had prepared a meal for Kisara, even if it was toast. But it was _toast_, what the fuck was she so happy about?

Kaiba sighed again, shaking his head. In the past two months, Kisara had probably thanked Kaiba more than anyone had in Kaiba's entire life – even for mundane things like sticking two pieces of bread in the toaster for her. But the odd thing was that…it made him feel good. It was a warm feeling, to be sincerely thanked, especially by someone as kind-hearted as Kisara; it felt real.

Kaiba glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, watching her smiling her life away as she munched on her toast in her brand new suit and Kaiba couldn't be mad at her at all. She had sounded so grateful and excited over four new suits that barely cost Kaiba his pocket change. She was easily pleased, but regardless, her being happy over something Kaiba did was…nice for a change. She never said a bad thing about him for anything that he did, even when he knew he could be unfair to her. She just seemed to be happy that he acknowledged her.

But even odder enough, Kaiba felt like he wanted to do more for her. A part of him wanted her to already just _know _that he acknowledged her, so that she could be even happier or even more excited when he performed big gestures for her.

Wait, what the fuck? What the hell was he even planning on doing? Kaiba shook the thoughts from his head. Kisara definitely needed to get the hell out of his house before he started thinking too many sappy thoughts. He and Kisara were merely co-workers – that's it!

"I gotta use the bathroom, then we can leave," Mokuba said, tossing his dishes into the sink and heading down the hall. Kaiba snatched away Kisara's empty plate and threw it into the sink as well. He turned to see Kisara stand up as well, picking her backpack from the ground near the door.

"You really are impossible aren't you?" he growled, glaring at her suit. She had misaligned the buttons.

Kisara grinned sheepishly and Kaiba rolled his eyes, unbuttoning the jacket, and then fixed it quickly before Mokuba could come out and make the whole situation ten times more awkward. Kisara was still smiling as though knowing he was rushing and looked like she was about to say something snarky, so he took his palm and stuffed it into her face lightly, pushing her away as she giggled. "You look very cute today. Ten out of ten, woo!"

"On a scale of one to ten, you are a zero," Kaiba responded. "But with the suit you are a one. Congratulations, you look like a troll."

Kisara stifled back laughter, hitting him playfully on the shoulders. "Your jokes are getting better everyday."

"I wasn't joking," Kaiba told her with a completely straight face, making Kisara laugh again.

Mokuba came back and the three of them headed down into the car. Of course, Mokuba took the backseat and Kisara joined Kaiba in the front but he didn't look like he cared at all, driving Mokuba to school in silence. "Bye," Kisara said brightly, waving. "Have fun at school."

"See you, Kisara. Thanks for driving me, _Nii-sama_," Mokuba said, hustling out of the car.

"I am surprised you did not tell him to have a _lovely_ day," Kaiba responded sarcastically as they pulled out of the school.

"My 'lovely day' comments are for you and you only," she said with a grin. "'Cause I'm your fangirl, remember? I make phrases just for you, and I make sure I never say them to any one else – I want Kaiba-_shachou _to feel super special so that he'll love me! Do you love me yet, Kaiba-_shachou_? Will you grace me with the honor to bear your children? I promise that I will do my best to make them look like you, your genes will simply slaughter all of mine – my genes will surrender to your all-mighty chromosomes – and make mini-Kaiba's like the Mini-K! See, Mini-K does stand for mini-Kaiba!"

"Holy fucking _shit_," Kaiba growled. "Shut _up_."

Kisara just giggled to herself again, making Kaiba roll his eyes. He felt comfortable, and so, they drove quietly, the radio playing somewhere in the background. When they pulled into the parking lot of Kaiba Corporations, Kisara hesitated for a moment before getting out.

"What are you doing?" he sighed exasperatedly.

"Won't it be weird if we go together?" she asked cautiously.

Kaiba made a face. "No. No one cares," he told her, slamming the door behind him as he got out. He paused for a moment, waiting for Kisara to do the same.

"Are you sure?" she asked, scurrying to his side to walk with him as he locked the car.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "What does it matter? You and I both know what this is, so who cares what others think?"

"What is 'this'?" she asked, a hit of sarcasm in her voice. They crossed the thresehold into the building together. Kisara waved happily to Isono, who needed to look back twice to make sure that he did, indeed, see Kaiba Seto walk into work with a fellow co-worker – with _Kisara_.

"It's nine in the morning, stop talking," Kaiba said, and Kisara just laughed at his attempt to try and divert the conversation. She wasn't even sure what 'this' was, but was wondering what he thought. She was just happy that she was given the opportunity to stand beside him.

The elevator doors closed with a ding and Kaiba pressed the button for Kisara's floor and his own floor one above it. "Hey," Kisara said in a whisper. "We're in an elevator. Wanna make out?"

"This again?" Kaiba sighed, shaking his head as she just laughed. "You're so annoying."

"That's a lie," Kisara said as a matter of fact. She watched the numbers of the floors increase and then hopped up on her tiptoes. "Quick, before I get to my floor!"

To Kisara's surprise, Kaiba leaned down slightly, using his hand to bring her face up to his and softly kissed her lips. The bell let out a little ding and Kaiba snapped back immediately as the doors slid apart. He pressed his hand to the small of her back and gently shoved her out before she could say anything. "Go do work. You have a deadline next week, don't forget."

"Okay," she said with a bright smile. "Have a lovely day, Seto."

Kaiba turned on his computer, the device letting out a low hum as it started out. He wondered why he had even considered he and Kisara as 'this' and wondered what she thought it meant. He didn't even understand it completely. He didn't know if they were friends, or more than friends, or anything at all – he didn't understand what was happening between them, except that it felt…nice.

The screen flashed and Kaiba looked up to see a pink cartoon bunny guffawing and hopping around his screen with a bright yellow envelope. Kaiba scowled. Only one person in the world used that ridiculous avatar to invade computers. Even if Kaiba didn't click it, it opened anyway, which snapped to a video chat revealing Pegasus J. Crawford, his silver hair falling into his face.

"Good morning, Kaiba-boy!" he greeted cheerfully, to which Kaiba glared.

"What do you want?" Kaiba snapped impatiently.

Pegasus frowned. "Aw, is that how you greet an old friend so early in the morning? You should lighten up, Kaiba-boy!"

"Don't make me repeat myself, Pegasus," the CEO growled. "Cut to the chase."

"Ah, okay, okay," he said with a little laugh. "I have information that you hired a new lead programmer."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "So what if I did?"

"Well, she and I happen to be acquainted, and I'd be happy to take her off your hands."

Kaiba's response was immediate: "Absolutely not."

"Oh, I know that she is developing a new gaming project, and I thought that we could go splitzies on it, and then you can just hand her over to me. Tell her that I head hunted her and that you have no use for her anymore; you know, that kind of thing that you're so good at," Pegasus explained, waving his hand as though this were not a big deal.

How did Pegasus even know that Kisara was here? How did he even _know _Kisara? "Listen, Pegasus. You and I both know that you are fucking psychotic but this is just crossing the line. Why in the world would you even think for one second that I would hand over my programmer to you, or split to profit of her project?"

"Because if you don't, I'm going to buy out your company," Pegasus said nonchalantly, shrugging. "I've almost succeeded before, and Industrial Illusions has been going well, so I have a lot of cash and I am sure that I can buy out Kaiba Corporations should you not let Kisara-_chan _come back to California with me."

Kaiba clenched his jaw at the mention of Kisara's name. "I already told you that I'm not going to give her to you!" he snapped harshly. "She wants to work for me and I'll fucking _kill_ you if you try to take her away from me."

Pegasus raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Aw, isn't that cute? Has Kisa-_chan_'s sweet personality gotten to you as well, Kaiba-boy? I always thought she was absolutely adorable, although _you_ don't seem like much of her type. You _like _her, don't you? Oh, this is rich! The infamous ice-cold Kaiba-boy likes the cutest little girl in all the world. Wait til the media hears about this."

"Cut the crap," Kaiba was nearly yelling. "This conversation is over. She will be staying here in Japan with me indefinitely – don't even think of trying to steal her or I will fucking come for your head."

"A little selfish aren't we?" Pegasus laughed. "How about this, then? We can share her. Your company can take all the credit and profit for her new project, but I get to have her work for me in California. You get to have her for this project, which I'm sure will bring you in millions and billions, and I won't ask her to make any crazy projects for me. I'll just have her work here in San Francisco where she belongs."

"That is not going to happen," Kaiba said again. "She chose to come to Japan to work for the best and she is with the best. I will absolutely not hand her over to a psycho like you to have her idly waste her life away."

"Then I'll shut down Kaiba Corp and she'll have no choice but to work for me," Pegasus said with a smile. Then he narrowed his eyes, his tone becoming menacing – this was the man that Kaiba knew. "You don't think I'll do it? You do not understand that woman has and she does not belong in Japan with you. You say that she deserves the best but really, you are just the same selfish child and you will never understand her and if you did, you would send her here right away."

"What could _you_ possibly know about her?" Kaiba asked coldly.

"Everything," Pegasus said with a smile. "She is a duel monster after all."

Kaiba felt his chest clench. "What the fuck did you just say?"

"Ah, I would have thought you would have been able to recognize her. Yugi-boy and yourself have ties to the days of ancient Egypt, do you not?"

"That was all a bunch of bullshit," Kaiba said, dismissing the idea. "If you brainwashed her into thinking that she as involved in some fairy tale from thousands of years ago, I swear I'll fucking destroy you."

"But it's not a fairy tale," Pegasus argued. "You witnessed everything yourself. She knows it, too."

"My programmer is not some random crazed woman," Kaiba stated, firm. "And I will not have you babbling about how she is some reincarnation of a duel monster. It is merely a game; the woman that exists in this world is real and I will not have you take her from me."

"It's uncanny," Pegasus sighed, amused. "You're _so_ protective of her. It's almost a little parallel with your otherworldly obsession with the Blue-Eyes White-Dragon. Perhaps that is because Kisa-_chan _and your beloved Blue-Eyes are one in the same?"

"Shut the fuck _up_," Kaiba snapped. "I've had enough. My decision is final. She will stay in Japan with me and if you even think about getting on a jet and coming here to take her from me physically, then I will _physically _fucking kill you. I swear it."

"We'll see," Pegasus said with another devious smile. "Have a _lovely_ day, Kaiba-boy."

And then the video ended, and Kaiba slammed his fist on the desk as hard as he could, the hollow sound echoing in the empty room. He didn't doubt that Pegasus was going to buy the stocks to Kaiba Corp and try to buy out the company, the only thing was how quickly he was going to do it. While Industrial Illusions was doing well, so was Kaiba Corp, so the price of his company stocks had increased, too.

Kaiba stood up, leaving the room. He took the stairs and found himself at Kisara's desk. The woman looked up and smiled. "Hi," she said happily. "What can I do for you?"

Kaiba paused for a moment. What _could_ she do? She couldn't do anything. If Pegasus was going to come for her, then Kaiba knew that psycho would, indeed, come full force, guns blazing, and Kisara wasn't the kind of person to fight. Kaiba needed to be the one to do it for her. He needed her to want to stay. "Nothing," he said, and pulled up a chair to sit next to her. "What are you doing?"

Kisara seemed surprised, but she smiled widely, showing him that she was designing the new upgraded interfaces and mounts that would run all the new programs for the Mini-K. Kaiba could feel the eyes of the other programmers on them and his sudden interest in what she was doing, but Kaiba didn't care.

"Show me the mount," Kaiba told her, and Kisara ran the program for him, explaining what she was doing, Kaiba actually looking like he was listening. Everyone seemed shocked but no one said anything. "There's a glitch here," he said, pointing to a flicker on the screen. He reached over and opened the program coding. He scanned through the typeface, locating the glitch and fixing it quickly. He ran it again, and the opening screen didn't flicker.

"Oh, you're such a genius, Kaiba-_shachou_," she teased. "You've really nothing better to do besides watch me work? Miss me already?"

"I can assure you that's not the case," Kaiba informed her, raising an eyebrow at her daring to tease him in public in front of the other programmers. She just laughed, gazing at her computer again. He stood up, moving the chair back. "Well, then, keep up the good work. See you for lunch," he said, and Kisara looked up at that, but Kaiba was already leaving the room. What did he care if the rest of the workers knew that he was having lunch with her?

Pegasus would not get his way.

* * *

><p>Kisara was glad the day was over. The other programmers wouldn't stop talking about the scene Kaiba had caused in the office today, coming to see what she was doing and stating to the whole department that they were having lunch together. She rode the elevator one floor up to see Kaiba in his office before needing to go to the cafe for her performance in a little bit. Perhaps she could do homework or read or something while she waited. Kisara entered the room to see Kaiba packing his things up. She bowed politely nonetheless.<p>

"Thanks for checking in on me today. I'll see you at six thirty," she said with a smile.

Kaiba looked up and narrowed his eyes at her as though she was speaking crazy. "I'll take you. Change into one of the dresses at home and we can go."

"Oh, no, there's really no need-"

"You need to go back to my house anyway to pick up all your new clothes before I drop you off at your apartment," Kaiba told her. He moved past her and towards the door. "Come on."

Kisara offered him a sweet smile. Those were Kaiba's favorite. "Okay."

They drove home in silence, Kisara looking particularly happy. Kaiba didn't really understand why, since he had a feeling that she had been bombarded with uncomfortable questions at work. Oh, well. Let them talk. Kaiba didn't care about what others thought of him. "You know," she said when the reached the penthouse and were heading up the elevator. "It took me a long time to ask this, but I think I can now."

"Again, I hope you are not suggesting we go to bed together," Kaiba said, and Kisara laughed, shaking her head.

"No, it's not that. I just wanted to ask you a favor," she said, and then raised her hands when Kaiba narrowed his eyes as though thinking she were going to ask for something financially. "I want to ask that you never lie to me."

"Why would I lie about anything?" Kaiba replied, raising an eyebrow at her as she was blocking the way to the door. Kisara held up her pinky.

"Promise me, Seto," she said with a smile.

"I'm not going to make a pinky promise," Kaiba told her. "Take my word."

"Promiiiiiise," she insisted, hopping up and down. "Promise me."

"I'm not going to make a pinky promise," Kaiba repeated, but Kisara just kept hopping and making noises so he let out an exasperated sigh and lifted his hand, binding his pinky finger with hers. "There, is that good enough?"

"Nope," she said with a smile. "You gotta tell me you promise."

"This is already embarrassing enough."

Kisara tightened her finger around Kaiba's. "Then I guess you're stuck here forever. I have the finger strength of ten bazillion rock climbers, and I could snap your little chicken fingers like no one's business!"

Kaiba returned her strength. "Fine. I promise. I won't lie to you."

"Ever?" she asked with a bright smile.

"Ever."

"This is a binding contract," she said, lifting their hands. "Binding! As in, unbreakable! You can't break it!"

"I got that the first time," Kaiba sighed. "And I assure you that I have no reason to lie to you. I do not know where you would get that idea."

"Okay," she said. "Just making sure." She released his hand and stepped aside for him to open the door. He unlocked it and then Kisara grabbed his arm. "Wait, is Mokuba inside?" she asked quietly.

Kaiba made a face. "Yes," he told her. "He comes home before us on Wednesdays."

Then swiftly, she tugged his tie again and gave him a quick peck on the lips behind the door before once again dancing around him through the door that she pulled open. She grinned at him as he stepped through, rubbing his eyes to try and hide the heat that accumulated on his face. "Thanks for promising me. I'm sure you won't let me down."

"You're ridiculous," he said, taking off his coat and tossing it onto the couch. Mokuba was in the kitchen fixing a bowl of noodles.

"Mm, _okairinasai_," he greeted with a smile. "Sorry, I didn't know you guys were coming home today."

"What would make you think we were going elsewhere?" Kaiba mumbled, while Kisara responded with a cheerful, '_tadaima_!' before hopping onto one of the barstools.

"Can I have a bowl of noodles too?" she asked, and Mokuba grinned, taking out another packaged food from the cabinet. He set another pot of boiling water. "Seto, do you want one?"

"Those things will kill you," Kaiba told them, sitting on the couch without as much as another glance. Kisara and Mokuba just laughed, talking again. Kaiba wondered what it was they were always so happily chatting about. Kaiba wasn't particularly interested, though, it was just a thought, as he knew that he couldn't compete with Mokuba when it came to being social and was certain that the two certainly had a lot to discuss, as Mokuba had grown up just like any other teenager.

Kisara finished her bowl and ducked into the bathroom to change into her dress for the jazz performance and Kaiba slipped on his jacket again, too lazy to change into something else. "You guys going out again?" Mokuba asked suggestively.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes slightly. "If you must know, I have to take her to the café down the road – she sings there on Wednesday nights and it is a part of our deal that I attend all her performances. I will be taking her straight home after that and never again will she spend the night in my house."

Mokuba chuckled like his brother was telling him a funny joke. "Okay, _Nii-sama. _No need to get crazy."

"I can assure you that is certainly not what is happening," Kaiba said as Kisara emerged. It was a white silk floral patterned dress that fell to her knees. The roses were blue and lavendar, dancing around her body, and she left her hair dow over her shoulders to hide the fact that it was strapless. The tailor shop only made one of those dresses in each size; there were not any more of them anywhere else in the world.

Kaiba decided not to tell Kisara that before she throw a fit about how she needed to pay him back when he ultimately didn't care about money. He would rather her spend her hard-earned cash on things she needed to pay for, like rent, school, and food.

She smiled at Kaiba, who turned away and headed for the door. "Let's go."


	15. Chapter 15: Double Date

"Okay, I'm going to give you dating tips for tonight!" Mokuba announced to Kaiba, who was sitting on the couch Friday night. Kisara had taken her bike back to her new place, and promised to be back later for the 'double date' after she prepared a few things. Kaiba had showered and changed into a beige cashmere sweater and dark wash jeans and Mokuba was in a plaid flannel and denim jeans.

"What are you talking about?" Kaiba mumbled, making a face at his brother.

"Dating tips for tonight," Mokuba said with a grin.

"I heard you the first time. I was asking what you were referring to, Mokuba," Kaiba sighed, rubbing his temples, and Mokuba just laughed playfully, sounding excited.

"You know, to make it more date-y with Kisara," he said with a grin.

Kaiba furrowed his brows. "I'm afraid I don't follow. And not to be rude, but I don't think I need your advice because that woman and I are certainly not dating, so there are no need for your tips. This is a one time thing."

"But Kisara was so excited," Mokuba said, sounding a little defeated. Mokuba saw his brother avert his face at that, seeming a little flustered upon hearing Kisara's cheerful anticipation for dinner tonight, confirming Mokuba's suspiscions that Kaiba actually did want a little advice to make tonight enjoyable for Kisara. Kaiba just wasn't the kind of person to admit it.

So of course, he said, "I don't care."

Mokuba still pretended to be disappointed. "Okay. Well, you and Kisara can get started on dinner when she comes, then, I have to go pick up Rebecca."

"What?" Kaiba asked, incredulous. "Exactly how are you going to do so without a license, and why are you leaving me here with that woman to cook? You are the better chef out of the two of us; why can't Hopkins get dropped off here and she can join you in the kitchen while Ryusei and I sit in silence so I can watch the news?"

"'Cause her grandpa's away and she doesn't have a car or anything, and I don't want her taking the subway alone," Mokuba said with a shrug, much to Kaiba's dismay. "I called Isono earlier, he said he'd take me to her place to pick her up. Kisara should be here soon, so when she comes, everything is in the kitchen. I already told her what's for dinner and the instructions are there, too."

"Whatever you're planning isn't going to work," Kaiba informed Mokuba all-knowingly. "While I did agree to this double-date business, this is only a one-time thing."

Mokuba just smiled, Kaiba seeing the hint of mischief in his brother's curled lips. "Okay, I understand, _Nii-sama_," he said, contradicting the look on his face. "Gotta go pick up Rebecca now. She's got a short temper sometimes."

"Fine," Kaiba sighed, and Mokuba plucked away the keys and opened the door to see Kisara standing there with her hand raised as though about to knock. She was dressed in a white 3/4th sleeve top that showed off her normal golden cuffs, and blue jean shorts. Her hair was tied nicely over her shoulder, lightly curled. She was holding her helmet and a bag of groceries.

"Hey," she greeted with a smile. "Going to pick up munchkins from the forest?"

Mokuba chuckled. "Whatever," he replied with a playful eye roll, to which Kisara laughed. "Everything's in the kitchen. We'll be back soon."

"Okay," she said as Mokuba passed. She smiled at Kaiba. "You look cute."

"And on a scale of one to ten, you are once again a zero," Kaiba replied, standing up and moving into the kitchen.

"Aw, you don't mean that," she teased, following him with the bag of groceries. Kaiba glanced around, skimming over the ingredients that Mokuba left behind. "Do you know how to cook?"

Kaiba scoffed. "What use would I have for that kind of knowledge?"

"Ooh, something that Kaiba Seto doesn't know how to do? I'm appalled!" she joked, to which Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Never fear, Kisa-_chan _knows how to cook. Sort of. Not as good as Mokuba. I don't know why he wanted us to cook dinner, but oh well. We're making katsu curry."

Kisara plunked the groceries down onto the counter and started removing the items with an actual skip in her entire body. She really was excited for tonight, wasn't she? For the first time, Kaiba actually didn't want to make someone miserable. But he didn't know how to act either. Their first date had been less intimate because they had been at a restaurant but tonight was different; they were at his house so Kaiba knew that he should feel comfortable at home, but really, it was a little awkward.

"Okay, so how about you bread the chicken and shrimp and I'll do the curry and the vegetables?" Kisara suggested, smiling brightly. Kaiba realized that his brother had written instructions, but the handwriting of an eighteen-year-old male was highly illegible, and Kaiba sighed. "You know how right? Katsu is easy."

"Of course I know how," Kaiba responded automatically, to which Kisara just laughed. She placed her hands under the sink, washing them, and then Kaiba did the same. "Cutting board and knife, and pots, and spoons, and bowls?" she asked him.

"Go look for yourself. Grab whatever you want so you don't have to ask me questions," Kaiba said, not really knowing the layout Mokuba kept for all the kitchen appliances, but not wanting to admit this to Kisara.

"Okie dokie," she said, venturing around Kaiba's massive kitchen to try and find what she needed. Kaiba, in the mean time, took the chicken and shrimp from the refrigerator and the bread crumbs from the counter. He took a plate to lay out the bread crumbs while Kisara found the cutting board and started cutting the vegetables and set a pot on the stove to boil water. She also moved a frying pan out for Kaiba later.

Mokuba came back shortly, and Kisara turned at the sound of the door opening. "_Okairinasai,_ Mokuba-_san_," Kisara said with a smile and Rebecca glared.

"Mokuba, I thought you and I were going to just have dinner," Rebecca asked snidely.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that _Nii-sama _and Kisara were going to be here, too, I guess," Mokuba said sheepishly, grinning.

"Are they dating?" Rebecca asked, trying not to actually sound interested at this new turn of events. "Not that, uh, _we're_ d-dating or anything like that!"

"We are not," Kaiba informed Rebecca. Everyone turned when Kisara burst out laughing. Kaiba narrowed his eyes, assuming she was laughing at his statement about their relationship status. "What is so funny?"

"Seto, you can't just put the bread on the chicken! You have to put it in eggs first and then the bread crumbs so it sticks!" she teased, and Mokuba even stifled laughter as Kisara poked Kaiba's barely-breaded chicken pieces. Kisara reached into the refrigerator and grabbed a few eggs, giggling as she cracked them into the bowl and Kaiba did his best not to look humiliated.

Mokuba and Rebecca sat on the couch and changed the television station to an old anime, chatting about school. Meanwhile, Kisara was still chuckling to herself as she mixed the eggs, taking the chicken slabs and dunking them in the eggs before rolling them in the tray of bread crumbs. She set them on a plate and smiled at Kaiba. "Oh, man, you're so cute, I think I might keel over and die," she teased, poking his nose with an egg-bready finger.

Kaiba wiped the egg and bread crumbs from his face and scowled at her. "Should Mokuba had written legible instructions, this would not have happened."

"There are just some things people are good at and some things they aren't," she said with a smile. "You're so cute."

"Mokuba, if I murder her, you will pretend it never happened. Do you understand?"

Kisara and Mokuba just laughed, the silver-haired woman prancing around the kitchen to start boiling the curry, plopping vegetables into the pot, while Kaiba breaded the shrimp the way Kisara showed him. She turned back after some time. "Wanna start frying it?"

"Fine," he told her, and she turned on another stove with a pan of oil beginning to heat up. Mokuba merely listened, making sure to keep his eyes on the television, or focused on Rebecca, but really, he was amused by the scene in the kitchen. Kaiba seemed so confused but was doing his best to hide it with overly sarcastic comments, which Kisara saw through. But she helped him anyway, able to navigate around the kitchen, only calling him cute rather than talking down to him. While embarrassed, Kaiba didn't really seem too affected otherwise. It was actually kind of nice.

"We'll do dishes after," Mokuba said after Kisara and Kaiba were finishing up the cooking.

"Okay," Kisara said. She dipped a spoon into the curry and tasted it, seeming to think. She lifted it to Kaiba. "Is that okay, or should I add more water?"

Kaiba took the spoon from her and sampled the curry. "It's fine." He gave the spoon back to her and turned to his frying pan to take out the last piece of katsu, placing it on a sheet of wax paper. They made bowls of rice and brought the food to the table, Kisara and Kaiba sitting opposite of Rebecca and Mokuba.

Mokuba stood up for a moment to grab drinks, since Kaiba and Kisara's hands were full due to carrying food. Upon opening the refrigerator, he was surprised to see a six pack of melon soda bottles sitting there next to Asahi super dry. He grabbed a beer for Kaiba, two melon sodas and two waters, in case Rebecca didn't like melon soda.

"Here," Mokuba said, handing each person a beverage.

Like he expected, Kisara smiled upon receiving the bottle. "Melon soda! Thank you, Seto. You're wonderful."

Kaiba didn't say anything, just opened the bottle of beer and drank from it. Mokuba was surprised that Kaiba would go out of his way to purchase something that Kisara liked, but at the same time, Mokuba _wasn't _surprised.

"So, how is your project going, Hopkins?" Kisara asked, an obvious feigned sweetness tainting her voice.

"Fantastic," Rebecca replied just as dryly. "But unlike you, unfortunately I do not get to ride free on the coattails of a multi-million yen company. I actually have to do work to be known."

"If you're accusing me of freeloading off of Seto, I can assure you that you are very misinformed," Kisara said, narrowing her eyes. "I got hired into Kaiba Corporations because I took initiative. I had to do an interview just like everyone else."

Rebecca scoffed. "Unlikely. Kaiba probably just felt sorry for you. That's why he's making you redo your own project."

"For your information, I'm redoing it to make it _better _for Seto. The prototype I made I built _by myself _and with the knowledge of other programmers at Kaiba Corporations, I am positive that the Mini-K will be a product that Kaiba Corporations can be proud of."

"Mini-K? If that's not a ridiculous name, then I don't know what is," Rebecca scoffed.

"I'll have you know that it's an awesome name," Kisara said as a matter of fact. "Your tiny mind is just unable to wrap around the sheer genius of it. You're still a kid after all."

"Six years apart; that's nothing," Rebecca told Kisara. "You're six years older than me and we are still at the same level of programming. I'd have to say that's a little disappointing for you, isn't it, Ryusei? By the time I'm twenty-two, imagine the things I'd be doing, when you're working at Kaiba Corporations at that age."

"I imagine you'll be working on the street shining shoes," Kisara said, plopping a piece of chicken katsu into her mouth. "You're unbelievable, thinking that you could possibly even compare to me. You're a little—"

"Ryusei," Kaiba snapped, mildly annoyed. It was amusing at first, seeing such a naturally sweet woman argue, but now it was irritating. "You are six years her senior. Act like it."

"Rebecca, please be nice," Mokuba chimed in as well. He had no idea that the first conversation was going to be the two of them snapping at each other. He leaned over and whispered quietly so that the two across the table couldn't hear, "I think my brother really likes her, so you'll be seeing a lot of her."

Rebecca flushed. "What makes you even think to say something like that?"

Mokuba pulled back and flashed her a charming smile. "Because I like you. You'll be here a lot and so will she."

"Well, just because you like me doesn't mean that _I _like _you_," Rebecca defended, stuffing her face with food. Mokuba just chuckled and dinner went along quite peacefully after that.

Kaiba thought they were going to watch a movie, so when Mokuba suggested otherwise, he was a tad bit confused. After the dishes had been done, Mokuba had gone into his game room and pulled out one of his old gaming systems. "I was thinking instead of watching a boring old movie, we could play video games instead."

"Oh, so Ryusei could show us how she's a game programmer that can't play games?" Rebecca asked, raising both her eyebrows.

"I'm going to slaughter you, Hopkins," Kisara countered, taking a remote from Mokuba. Rebecca strapped hers on as well, and Kaiba just stared at his.

Mokuba started setting everything up and Kisara helped clear the floor, moving the coffee table aside. She smiled up at Kaiba. "Wanna be on teams?" she asked.

Kaiba hated teaming up with people. It was the same now as it was back when Kaiba used to play Duel Monsters; teammates only brought him down and wasn't planning on letting up. However, Mokuba glanced back at that, nodding his head slightly to Kaiba. The elder Kaiba looked away. "Fine," he said, his voice low. "We may be on teams."

Kisara seemed surprised, but grinned nonetheless. "Great! We'll be unstoppable."

"If you do not drag me down."

The silver haired woman giggled. "Oh, don't be silly. I'm the best gamer ever."

Kaiba scoffed. "Could have fooled me."

She just laughed, waving him off as Mokuba started a series of motion-play sports games that the four of them played together. They started with tennis, to which Kaiba and Kisara had won all the games, much to Rebecca's protests. The virtual Frisbee was a little more difficult to get the strength and wrist flick right, so Kisara didn't do too well, and Kaiba rolled his eyes at her. To his surprise, however, he wasn't even the slightest bit angry – perhaps Kisara's cheerfulness was contagious. Kisara and Rebecca were extraordinary at the virtual archery, and Kaiba and Mokuba were proficient as well, resulting in a tie for that game.

"Oh, my God, speed slice," Kisara squealed happily. "Mokuba-_san _can I challenge Seto real fast?"

Mokuba laughed. "Yeah, sure. Rebecca, want something to drink?" he headed off towards the kitchen to grab something for the both of them as Rebecca plopped down onto the couch.

Kisara moved over, giving herself and Seto more room. "You know how to play?" she asked excitedly.

"The game is quite self-explanitory," Kaiba said as a matter of fact.

"Oh, okay, good. Because I'm pretty awesome at this game. It's not like Duel Monsters, you know. I'm gonna totally own you," she teased, and Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Unlikely."

The match started, and two watermelons landed in front of them an arrow across both of them to slash up diagonally. Kaiba lifted his remote to do so, but before he could even move, the point was awarded to Kisara. He glanced at her and she blew the top of her remote as though she had just fired a pistol. "I hope you know how ridiculous you just looked."

"You mean how _you _just looked?" Kisara joked, slashing a loaf of bread with a flick of her wrist while Kaiba was looking at her. She pointed to the screen. "Come on, Seto!"

"Shut up," he snapped, lifting his hand to try to slice the toaster that dropped, but Kisara caught that one, too, giggling as her character received another point. By the time Mokuba returned, Kaiba had received one point and Kisara had nine. She easily took the last point, throwing her hands up and cheering while Kaiba just stood dumbfounded. Mokuba chuckled; his brother had actually lost at a game.

Kisara grinned at Kaiba. "How do you like them apples?"

Kaiba clicked the "Rematch" option on the screen as his answer and Kisara laughed, turning back to the television to play another round. It was mildly amusing for Mokuba to see his brother whipping his arm around trying to cut fruits, vegetables, and electrical appliances and not winning against a tiny silver haired woman. But he didn't particularly seem to care, and Mokuba was relieved. He and Rebecca joined in on the games after Kaiba didn't want to play speed slice anymore.

"Want coffee or tea or anything?" Mokuba asked, being a gracious host, as he figured that Kaiba didn't know how to do something like that.

"Sure," Rebecca and Kisara said simultaneously, and then glared at each other.

"Coffee would be great," Rebecca said.

"Green tea, please," Kisara piped.

"Black coffee," Kaiba told Mokuba. "Thank you."

Mokuba smiled, nodding. "Good thing I made coffee when I went to go get drinks earlier. Let me just heat up some water for your tea, Kisara."

"Oh, no, if you already made coffee, then that's fine. Lots and lots and lots of cream and sugar, please," she said, waving him off with a smile. Mokuba nodded and went into the kitchen to prepare everything while Kisara sat herself on the couch next to Seto. Rebecca saved a space between herself and Kisara for Mokuba.

Kaiba flicked off the video games and turned the television back on, trying to ignore how close he and Kisara were sitting. They had been in close quarters before, of course, as they did sleep in the same bed together previously, and they had shared a few kisses here and there, but Kaiba wasn't particularly sure how to act anymore. Normally when they had intimate moments, there was no one around really, so Kaiba didn't particularly care. He didn't know, however, if Kisara wished for him to act differently around others.

But then why would he even act different in the first place? There was nothing between them; they were co-workers. But Kaiba couldn't shake the feeling that he actually _liked _seeing her outside of work. She was more candid and fun to be around when it was just the two of them, or around Mokuba. At work, she seemed to care a lot about what other people thought, or at least, she didn't want Kaiba to feel weird about being seen with her. Kaiba didn't like that; he wanted her to be able to be herself without feeling the need to impress others.

However, Kaiba couldn't bring himself to do anything. She was sitting so close to him, her thigh brushing against his and all he could do was sit there as Mokuba brought all the cups of coffee and a basket of cream and sugar packets.

"Did you guys _want _to watch a movie before going home?" Mokuba asked, glancing at the time. It was still a bit early, around ten, and for an at-home date, Mokuba felt like it was okay to stay a little later.

"Sure," Kisara said with a smile.

"I don't have anything tomorrow, so that's fine," Rebecca said with a shrug and got up to follow Mokuba to grab a DVD from his incredibly large collection sitting in a drawer near the television. Kisara was still tearing open packets of cream and sugar to dump into her coffee. It looked like it was going to overflow.

"Is all of that really necessary, Ryusei?" Kaiba sighed.

"Yup," she said, tearing open another sugar packet. "I don't like coffee that much unless it's packed with lots of sugar and milk."

"Did you want another melon soda?" he asked, standing up. He moved around her and into the kitchen, reaching into the fridge for another bottle. What had possessed him to buy these on the way home from Kisara's apartment was completely beyond him. However, the sweet smile she flashed when he came back into the kitchen made it worth it somehow.

She popped open the cap and took a sip. "Thank you, Seto."

"Whatever," he responded, sitting next to her again, adding a little distance between them. It was difficult for him to think when she was at such a close proximity.

"Is _Spirited Away_ okay?" Mokuba asked, flashing the DVD. Kisara nodded and Kaiba didn't respond, so Mokuba popped in the DVD and dimmed the lights. He retreated into his room to grab some things before returning with two wool blankets, handing one of them to Kisara and wrapping him and Rebecca in the other one as the movie started.

"Are you cold?" Kisara asked quietly as she opened the blanket.

Kaiba shook his head, taking a sip from his coffee. "No. You can use it."

"Okay," she said, putting the material over her lap. Mokuba and Rebecca were snuggling for most of the movie, while Kaiba and Kisara sat separately. She didn't seem to be too affected and Kaiba wondered if she had asked if he wanted to share the blanket to establish a higher degree of intimacy. Had he made the right choice by declining her offer? Stolen glances of Kisara through the corner of his eye gave nothing away; she just seemed to be enjoying the movie.

125 minutes later, Mokuba stood up and stretched before flipping on the lights. He took Rebecca's hand and gently pulled her up. She seemed a little tired, so Mokuba called Isono to come pick her up and take her home.

"I should be going, too," Kisara said, folding the blanket nicely. She took her untouched coffee and empty bottle of melon soda into the kitchen, tossing the bottle and placing the mug in the sink. She bowed politely to Mokuba. "Thanks for being such a wonderful host, Mokuba-_san._ I'll see you on Sunday."

"Yeah," Mokuba said, hugging Kisara. "Thanks for being able to make it. Maybe we can do this again sometime?"

Kisara smiled a little and shook her head, shrugging at the same time. "Ah, I'm not sure about that. This was a one-time thing, really." She picked up her blue purse and her motorcycle helmet, bowing to Seto. "Thanks for having me and agreeing to this whole thing. I'll see you on Monday, okay? Have a lovely weekend, Seto."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kaiba saw Mokuba kind of nod his head forward as though trying to tell him something. "I'll walk you downstairs," he said, and Mokuba nodded a little, confirming that that was indeed what the younger Kaiba wanted his brother to do.

"Oh, okay," she said with a smile. She bowed to Mokuba again. "Thanks, see you soon."

"_Jaa_," Mokuba said with a wave, Kaiba taking his keys off the counter before heading downstairs with Kisara in silence. She had parked her motorcycle in the visitor's stall and paused upon approaching it.

She smiled at Kaiba. "Thanks for walking me down. I, um, had a lot of fun tonight. Did you?"

"I did," Kaiba answered honestly, and Kisara's simle widened.

"That's wonderful. Well, good night, Seto," she said, lifting her hands to put on her helmet, but Kaiba caught her wrist.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

Kisara seemed confused for a moment, but then a tiny smile tugged at her lips. "Oh yeah," she said quietly, moving closer to him. "Can I kiss you?"

"You haven't been asking all this time, so there's no need to start now," Kaiba answered, but leaned down anyway and met her lips with his own. His arms lifted to brush her hair back and he deepened the kiss, feeling her warmth all around him, a spark exploding in his chest. When they broke apart, Kaiba found himself a little dazed.

Kisara smiled. "See you," she said, shoving her helmet on. Her bike roared to life and Kaiba stepped out of the way as she backed out of the stall. She paused for a moment, pulling off her helmet. "I think I need one for the road."

Kaiba scoffed and moved towards her again, obliging to a brief kiss. Kisara grinned. "Good night."

"Good night," Kaiba responded, and Kisara sped off this time, turning down the main road. Kaiba made his way back upstairs, pushing open the door to the penthouse. Only Mokuba was sitting on the couch. Kaiba closed the door, his lips still tingling. He did not want Mokuba to know this particular information, however.

"Rebecca's using the bathroom, Isono should be here in a bit," Mokuba said. He smirked a little, having a slight idea of why Kaiba had taken a while downstairs. "Okay, so, date evaluation time."

"What are you talking about?" Kaiba asked, sitting on the couch.

"Tonight! Your evaluation," Mokuba said in a joking tone.

"I apologize; I do not understand," the elder brother asked, furrowing his brows. "Are you trying to give me more advice? I can assure you that I don't need it."

Mokuba snickered. "I think you do."

"Use your thinking for _class_ instead of my personal life."

Mokuba ignored him. "Okay, like, the first incident. She offered you the curry. You took the spoon and tasted it and gave it back. Next time she does something like that, just taste it from the spoon she's holding."

"As in, have her _feed _me," Kaiba replied skeptically.

"Yeah, it's not demeaning or anything. It's cute," Mokuba said with a shrug. "And when you guys play games together and you guys win, praise her. Tell her she did good, or kiss her on the head or something."

"She knows she is adept at video games; why does she need me to confirm it?" Kaiba asked, furrowing his brows.

"And the movie. That was almost painful to watch!" Mokuba laughed, running a hand through his hair. "She was practically asking you to snuggle and you were like, 'nope, you can snuggle alone.'"

"I wasn't cold."

"That's not what she was asking," Mokuba laughed. "And, I don't know, just in general, if you guys are close, then be a little more…attentive. Like, hold her hand, or put your arm around her something. Let her know you're there. I don't know how many dates you and Kisara have been on but if you keep acting like this, I'm pretty sure she'll find someone else that will pay more attention to her, or show her a little more affection."

Mokuba watched his brother's expression darken at his last sentence and was honestly surprised. But of course, Kaiba said, "That doesn't matter. It will be fine with me if she dates someone else; it will save me the trouble of wasting my Friday nights."

Mokuba sighed. "Just, ah, try to do what I said, okay? Hold her hand, put your arm around her, kiss her head, you know, small stuff. You guys aren't official, or anything, I know that, but I think you should try to be there for her a little more."

Kaiba paused for a while. "If I perform those actions, they will communicate affection? She will stay?"

'Stay'? That sure was an odd was of putting it, but nonetheless, the raven-haired boy nodded. "Yeah. They're small, but girls notice small stuff."

Kaiba scoffed a little. "Coming from the person who couldn't even tell me her name when you harbored feelings for her. Oddly confident, aren't we, Mokuba?"

Mokuba grinned sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. "Girls like confidence?"

Rebecca emerged from the bathroom. She bowed to Kaiba. "Thanks for having me tonight," she said politely. "I will probably see you around."

Kaiba didn't respond as Mokuba led her from the house with a brief goodbye. And much to his own surprise, Kaiba found himself wanting to weekend to be over already to see her again on Monday.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for all the support and reviews. It makes me happy to receive them and know that there are people that find stuff I write interesting! I also write regular fiction as well, I believe the link is in my profile for my FictionPress, but if not, I go under the same penname on that website. Thanks again, all of your support is greatly appreciated!**

**P.S. I have been reading/watching _Hajime no Ippo _lately, I think that it's amazing and if you are up to the challenge of a 900+ chapter manga, I highly recommend it. Have a lovely day :) **


	16. Chapter 16: Changing Tides

"I expected you to come prancing in here gushing about your weekend," Kaiba told Kisara upon seeing her on Monday. He had struggled, but he had resisted on going to Kaiba Land to meet her there yesterday. He had honestly expected her to come in here and share her experiences.

"Oh, no, we didn't go," she said, waving him off with a smile. "Everyone had midterms today so they asked to reschedule so they could study."

Kaiba remembered that Kisara said she had never been to Kaiba Land and that she was excited to get to go this weekend with friends. She tried not to show it, but Kaiba knew she was still disappointed.

"Okay, weeeeeell, I have to go downstairs. I worked a little yesterday, but our deadline is on Wednesday so I really gotta remind the team to get stuff done," she said, pumping her fist. "I'll see you for lunch. Have a lovely day, Seto."

And with that, she turned on her heels and left quietly. Kaiba exhaled deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose. There was something seriously wrong with him. He stood up, making his way over to a drawer, pulling open the middle cabinet. It was probably a good thing that he kept extra clothes at his office.

He grabbed a few things and shoved them into his briefcase, slamming it shut. Kaiba pushed the intercom. "Reschedule all my meetings and direct all calls to the machine," he told Isono, and swept out of the room.

"Ryusei," Kaiba said, pushing open the door to the programming department downstairs. Kisara was sitting on her normal chair, checking a program that someone had written. She glanced up and smiled.

"Hi again."

"Get up. We're leaving," he told her. "We have a meeting."

"Can't you just cover for me?" Kisara asked, sounding worried. "I really have to do all of this stuff. Our deadline is on Wednesday, you know."

Kaiba scowled. "How long is the assignment going to take for the entire department?"

"Well, we were all planning on staying late these next three days to get the prototype interfaces done," Kisara said, and her team seemed to nod quietly in agreement, like that was actually a good idea. "I even brought extra clothes 'cause staying in the suit all day and night gets uncomfortable. It's okay, though, we'll finish."

"The deadline is extended until next Friday," Kaiba snapped immediately, turning to the department. "I have no intention of paying all of you overtime for a rushed project."

Kisara seemed surprised, along with the rest of the department, who exchanged glances. Kaiba Seto had extended a deadline for a week and a half. "Really?" she asked cautiously.

Kaiba glared at her. "Don't make me change my mind. Now get up, we have an appointment."

Kisara grinned, hopping off her chair. "Okay," she said, following Kaiba out of the room. She waved to her coworkers. "See you guys later!"

"Where are we going?" she asked. Normally the meetings were held on Kaiba's floor, but they were going downstairs and Kaiba instructed her to bring along her bag.

"Go into the bathroom and change into your clothes for tonight. I assume you brought jeans and a shirt?" Kaiba told her, heading towards the lobby floor bathrooms.

"Yeah. But I thought we were going to a meeting?" Kisara asked, sounding confused.

"You ask too many questions. Hurry up and change and meet me in my car."

Kisara didn't know what to really think, but went into the bathroom anyway, shedding her suit and pulling on frayed jeans and a white V-neck shirt. She looked extraordinarily plain and was actually a little afraid of what Kaiba was planning.

However, when she went to Kaiba's car, she found him dressed rather casually as well, in a deep burgundy cotton shirt under a black sports jacket and dark washed denim jeans. He backed the car from the parking lot without another word.

"Can I ask more questions?" Kisara asked.

"No."

"Are you going to sell me? Is this human trafficking?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I can assure you, I would make no money if I chose to pawn you off."

Kisara giggled and sat back in her chair, clipping on her seatbelt. "Just making sure." They drove in silence again, until Kisara glanced out the window, seeing something in the distance that they were approaching. "Oh, my God!" Kisara squealed, clapping her hands together. She glanced at Kaiba, grinning widely. "Kaiba Land? Really?"

"It is important that the lead programmer of a new game at Kaiba Corporations knows the existing franchise inside and out – including the theme park," Kaiba told her, veering into a parking stall.

Kisara burst out happily, meeting Kaiba on his side of the car as he got out as well. "You're wonderful, Seto! Thank you!"

Kaiba averted his eyes. "This is for work," he reminded her.

"Oh, man, this is great!" she said, practically skipping towards the entrance. Kaiba sighed and followed. He hated admitting that seeing Kisara happy actually made him feel…good. It made him happy, too. All of a sudden, Kisara stopped, and turned around, making a face.

"What is it?" Kaiba asked, furrowing his brows. "Did you forget something in the car?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. She glanced up at him with bright blue eyes. "This is for both of us, right?"

"I own this place. You're the one that wanted to come here."

"If you're just going to chaperone me, then I don't want to go," Kisara said, looking away.

"What?"

"If you're just being my babysitter then it's like I'm here alone and I'd rather go back to work to finish the project by Wednesday. I want to have fun here – I want to be here with you."

Kaiba sighed. "Stop acting like a child or I _will _just be chaperoning you. Now hurry up," he said, moving in front of her to lead the way. She happily followed, like a child in a candy store, so excited as she looked like she would burst from her skin.

He moved through the entrance and Kisara pulled out her wallet as though about to pay for the entrance fee and for tickets for rides and games. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked, walking straight through the gate without as much as a glance at the worker.

Kisara looked up, the bills in hand and was in the process of passing it over the counter to get her wristband. Kaiba walked back and glared at the worker. "She's with me."

"Oh, don't be silly, how are you going to make money if you let anyone in for free?" Kisara said, waving him off. "Here," she said, trying to hand the money over to the worker.

"You're not _just_ anyone," Kaiba said before he could stop himself. Kisara seemed a little shocked at that, too. He turned back to the worker. "If you take her money, you're fired," he said, and stalked off. Kisara took her money back immediately as not wanting to be the cause of someone losing their job. She jogged after Kaiba.

"Hey, that was mean," she said.

"You don't need to waste your money. I own this place. You can do whatever you want."

"I had a little extra money to pay for my tickets because we were supposed to go on Sunday, so it's not big deal," she insisted.

"Why are you so keen about money and me doing you favors? Just accept it," Kaiba said. "This is a one-time thing, so I don't care if you accept the favors I do for you as long as you do not get used to it. Do I make myself clear?"

Kisara sighed, but she still smiled nonetheless. "Thank you."

"What do you want to do first?" Kaiba asked. He didn't really care about the quality of his day, but for some reason, he cared about hers. He wanted her to enjoy herself today.

"Let's go on the Blue-Eyes Jet Coaster," she said, starting towards the windy rollercoaster in one of the corners of the park. She gratefully took a map from one of the stands, opening it and examining it as she walked. "Is that okay?"

"Whatever you want to do is fine," Kaiba said, merely following her. Kisara turned around, walking backwards and puffing her cheeks out with her brows creased in. Kaiba sighed. "I mean, yay. Roller coasters," he replied sarcastically, and Kisara just laughed.

Kisara stood in line, but Kaiba started to make his way to the front. She sighed and followed after him, grabbing onto his arm before he reached the ticketman. "What are you doing?"

"You wanted to ride this thing," he said, shifting his arm free. People in line were trying not to stare.

"Yeah, but we have to wait in line like everyone else," she said, following him as he was being rather persistent.

"I own the park. I don't need to wait in _line_," Kaiba said incredulously.

"Please," Kisara said right before Kaiba was about to step in front of a group of children barely tall enough for the ride, but looking rather excited for it. "For me. Let's wait in line like normal people."

Kaiba paused for a moment, and then sighed. "Fine. You're the one that loses time."

"Thank you," she said, gently looping her arm through his to tug him back to the end of the line. She didn't take her arm back and Kaiba didn't move his either. "So, what'd you do this weekend?"

"Work," Kaiba told her.

"Aw, you should take a break sometimes. Call me up to hang out," she suggested jokingly with a grin.

"I apologize, I already wasted time Friday night. I have to work, you know," he said. He did not add that he did not have her phone number. It's not like he would call her anyway. She would only come over and bother him. Besides, she had work as well.

"Yeah, but hanging out with me is much better," she said with a smile. "We should have like a study date."

"I don't go to school."

"But you work. And I have school. We could like, do work together."

"What would the point be? Can you not study at home by yourself or with your friends? I certainly do not require your assistance while managing my company."

"Yeah, I know. I just thought it'd be fun," she said with a shrug.

Kaiba sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Fine. We may have a study date or whatever you called it. As long as you're quiet, you may come over to study." He paused for a moment, thinking about his next few words. "I also require your…phone number to inform you of when would be optimal times for you to come to the house."

Kisara flashed him a sweet smile and nodded. "Okay," she said, handing Kaiba her little phone and holding her hand out to take his. Kaiba fished it from his pocket and placed it in her hands. She typed in her number happily and Kaiba punched his in, and the two exchanged phones again.

"You didn't put the wrong number right?" she teased, checking her contacts again.

"That would be pointless."

Kisara smiled. "Woo, now we're phone buddies!"

"I'm going to delete your number if you say that again," Kaiba said, rolling his eyes.

The silver haried woman grinned. "You know, that was a really cute way to ask for my number. You 'require' my phone number to inform me of 'optimal times' to come over," she teased, Kaiba turned his face away as Kisara giggled. "You coulda just been like, 'hey, we've kissed a few times, I totally want your number so I can call you up to come over and make out' – that would have been like the same thing."

"You're annoying."

Kisara giggled as they made their way towards the front of the line. The ticketman bowed politely as Kaiba went on, Kisara following him. During the rollercoaster, Kisara laughed and screamed, while of course, Kaiba sat there with a poker face. This happened for all the rides, so much so that Kisara actually spent most of the ride laughing _at _Kaiba's incredible ability to not show any emotion.

They decided to take a break from riding things to play some games and headed over to one of the tents near the Blue-Eyes Adventure. "Ooh, it's so cute," Kisara said, gesturing to the giant Blue Eyes White Dragon doll behind one of the game stands.

"Do you want it?" Kaiba said, making his way to the stand she was looking at. He spoke to the worker, pointing at the doll, but Kisara grabbed his arm gently. The worker needed to double take when Kaiba didn't shove her away.

"Aw, come on, that totally defeats the purpose of the game," she said with a smile.

"But in the end, you just want the doll. To get the doll, you must win the game. What is the purpose of _playing to win_ when I own the _entire_ _park_?" Kaiba asked exasperatedly. But Kisara didn't budge.

"Pleeeeeeeaaaaassseee?" she said, smiling at him sweetly. Kaiba rolled his eyes, pulling out his wallet. He slammed down money and Kisara clapped her hands as the worker handed Kaiba three baseballs.

He flung one of the balls at the bottles and Kisara burst out laughing as it completely missed. "Shut up or I'll throw one of these at your face," Kaiba told her, but Kisara just laughed, pumping her arms and cheering. The worker was actually a little amused, but forced himself to look unaffected. Kaiba Seto was on a date with a woman? It was a little unbelievable, but the CEO wasn't telling the smaller woman to leave, and wasn't trying to make her cry and he wasn't mean to her at all, so what else would one suspect? She seemed to even _like _being in his company, cheering him on some more when he paid for another chance at the game, despite being the _owner _of the park.

"Just let me buy you the damn doll," Kaiba mumbled. He had won five little Blue-Eyes dolls and needed to have eight to trade for the giant one that Kisara wanted.

"There's no honor in cheating at games!" she teased, throwing her fist in the air. She brought it down and flashed the V for victory. "I believe in you!"

Kaiba sighed but eventually, he did win the giant Blue-Eyes White-Dragon doll for her and she hugged it happily, the doll nearly half her size. Kaiba needed to play many, many rounds of that game to "honorably" win her the doll, but the smile he got afterwards made it worth it, of course.

Heading out of the game tent to the Blue-Eyes Arcade, Kisara was walking next to Kaiba with a literal skip in her step, the Blue-Eyes White-Dragon held against her with one hand. What was it that Mokuba said again? Kaiba glanced down at Kisara's hand swinging idly at her side and before he could stop himself, Kaiba grabbed it. Kisara jumped. "What is it?"

He let go of her hand instantly and instead shoved it in his jeans pocket. "Nothing. You were just going the wrong way," he said.

Kisara pointed in front of her to where the Blue-Eyes Arcade stood proudly near the entrance of the park. "I'm pretty sure we're going the right way. Do you want to hug Mini-Blu, too?"

"What?"

She hugged the dragon. "I named him Mini-Blu."

"You are mentally challenged, aren't you?" he said, shaking his head with a sigh. Kisara laughed.

"I think Mini-Blu is a cute name. What would you name it?"

"I _wouldn't_."

"Aw, I'm sure you have a ton of baby names in your giant brain," Kisara said with a little laugh.

"Excuse me?"

"Like, don't people do that? Think of names for their future children? Like, for example, my kids are gonna be named Akio, Sora, and Haruo, in that order. The first two kids are gonna be two years apart, and the middle and the last are gonna be three years apart. Akio is going to play violin, and Sora's gonna be a pianist, while Haruo plays the drums, and they're all going to be in soccer and track and we're going to live in a flat in Tokyo exactly 1.5 kilometers from their school so that they can catch the subway."

Kaiba's answer was simple: "You're _insane_."

Kisara stifled back laughter, slapping his shoulder playfully. "I was kidding."

"I can't tell anymore. You're obviously very deranged."

She laughed again. "That's not true, 'cause I'm a genius."

Kaiba merely sighed and shook his head as Kisara laughed some more. They entered the Blue-Eyes Arcade together. Kaiba hated that he felt so insanely protective of Kisara. There were other young adults in the arcade as Kaiba Land had the latest gaming technology in their arcade, and so it was only natural for Kisara, a beautiful young woman, to attract attention when she played games so well. Kaiba did _not _like other men looking at her.

What were those things that Mokuba told him to do? Perhaps if he could establish that Kisara was his – even if she _wasn't_ – then the other men in the arcade would stop eyeing her and Kaiba could stop feeling like a crazy person.

Kaiba swept his arm around her waist and pulled her into him. "Woah," she said, startled. "What's wrong?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Nothing," he said as though he were unbothered.

"I'm kind of playing," she said, using one of her hands to operate the joystick on an old-school game of _Galaga_. The Blue-Eyes Arcade had a special section for a few old games as well. Kisara was impressively good at all of them.

Kaiba shifted so that she could play, but he still kept his arm around her waist. Kisara felt a little awkward, shooting him a look out of the corner of her eye. "Um, Seto, really, is something wrong?"

"No. Am I suddenly not allowed to watch you play video games?" he asked, his eyes on the screen.

"Do you want to go play something?" she asked, glancing around. She pointed to one of the other games in the holographic section. "What about chess?"

"I don't think you want to play me in chess. You'll just lose miserably and then cry on the way home."

Kisara's jaw dropped playfully and she slapped his shoulder lightly. "I won state championships in California. I'm the biggest nerd ever."

"I am the head of Kaiba Corporations _because _I won a chess match against Kaiba Gozaburo," Kaiba countered. "I can assure you that there is no bigger 'nerd' than me."

Kisara laughed, dragging him over to the virtual chessboard. It was as big as a pingpong table, Kaiba going to the far end to start the game. "Are you ready to lose?"

"Are you ready to feel my wrath?" Kisara challenged, punching the air in front of her.

"Ah, what was that? A kitten breathing from a kilometer away?" Kaiba said, swiping his hand across his sport coat as though flicking off dust. Kisara's jaw dropped again at that and she giggled, moving her pawn forward.

"Oh, you're gonna get it now. I'm gonna spank you so hard."

"I thought I already told you that I'm not that kinky."

Kisara laughed again as Kaiba moved his pawn forward. It was only natural that players start off by trying to seize the center positions and so she moved her bishop out diagonally to G5. Kaiba didn't care; that was Chess Tactics 101 and moved his own piece. "How did you learn to play chess?"

Kisara seemed surprised at that but smiled warmly nonetheless. "You taught me."

Kaiba cursed himself. There were so many things that he didn't remember about her that now he actually felt like a jerk when he mentioned things carelessly like that. Fortunately, Kisara didn't seem to hurt by the fact that he had forgotten and kept talking. "But my brother was really good, too, so he helped me a lot. _Nii-sama _is amazing at games. I also thought it was amazing that you beat Kaiba Gozaburo and so I thought that the next time you and I played chess together, I'd be a worthy opponent."

Kaiba just scoffed in response, not angrily, but just for a lack of words. He analyzed her strategy. It was a little awkward, as one was supposed to develop knights more than bishops as bishops tended be very useful in end-game due to the lessened amount of pawns blocking diagonals, but Kisara seemed to like her bishops and easily found good placement for them early on. Kaiba, of course, countered, playing defensively as to try to read what she was really trying to do.

And then Kaiba realized that she was trying to run the queen and then went on the offensive, finally taking one of her pawns. She didn't counter like he expected, not taking one of his "poisoned pawns", and retreated a little, taking a little longer to decide her moves. They were literally there for nearly an hour and a half before Kaiba was down to his last three pieces – his King, a pawn, and a rook – and Kisara was down to her King and rook.

"Checkmate," Kaiba told her, and the game blared loudly on Kaiba's end, shooting up virtual fireworks as the chess pieces disappeared and the board returned to its normal position. Kaiba realized that they had gathered a bit of a crowd, people both entranced with the actual game and those interested with the relationship between Kaiba and the woman he was challenging.

"Ah, dammit," she said, running a hand through her hair with a sigh. "Thought I could catch you there."

Kaiba tried to think about what Mokuba had told him. "It's okay. It was a good game," he said, patting her head. She smoothed out her hair and offered him a smile.

"Thanks," she said. "You should meet my sister and play her sometime. She's really good."

"You have a sister?"

"I think I mentioned this before," Kisara said, wrapping Mini-Blu in her arms again as she and Kaiba left the arcade. The sun was setting now and so they started to head back to the car. "_Nii-sama _and I helped her learn to play chess and she's way better than me and my brother. She's played in world tournaments. I guess being a genius runs in the family," she said with a wink.

"You and your sister are related by blood?" Kaiba wasn't sure that he remembered another young girl with Kisara at the orphanage.

"Nah, we're all adopted kids. My parents _love_ adopting kids. Mom especially – she's an archaeologist so she's really into different cultures, blah, blah," she laughed, waving him off. "What do you want to do now?"

"Are you hungry? We may grab something to eat at Tsuki's."

Kisara checked her phone. "Wow, it's that late already? Jeez, I didn't even do any work today!"

"It's fine," he said, unlocking the car. Kaiba didn't speak for some time and then managed to bring himself to say, "Did you enjoy yourself today?"

Kisara nodded and grinned widely. "I did. It was absolutely amazing. Thank you so much for taking me today, Seto. I promise I'll work hard for the project."

_Say something nice_. "You have been working diligently. I am...mildly impressed, so think of today as a part of my thanks."

The silver haired woman just nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Seto. You're the most wonderful person I have ever met."

Kaiba didn't exactly know how to respond to that, so he didn't. He just drove in silence, Kisara clutching her Blue-Eyes doll. Kaiba couldn't help but think about Pegasus' words. It bothered Kaiba - what Pegasus had said about Kisara being the same Kisara from thousands of years ago, the woman who stood at the Priest's side. Kaiba had seen everything from that time but had written it off as a bad dream. It couldn't be her, though, because Kaiba knew that he wasn't some priest from ancient Egypt; he was Kaiba Seto, CEO and majority shareholder of Kaiba Corporations. But still...it bothered him.

The pulled up to Tsuki's and Kaiba exited the car. Thankfully, Kisara left her enormous Blue-Eyes doll inside, following him to the restaurant. He requested a table for two but was interrupted by people calling Kisara's name. She glanced up and waved to a certain spikey haired duelist and his friends. Yugi removed himself from his booth with his friends, making his way to them at the front. "Hey," he greeted, still as smiley as always. "What're you guys doing here?"

"Seto took me to Kaiba Land today," Kisara said. "We're just stopping for dinner."

Yugi looked surprised, but didn't say anything to Kaiba about it. Yugi was wondering why the usual suit-clad Kaiba Seto was dressed in jeans and a jacket, but Kisara did the explanation on that one. Yugi had to admit that he was surprised that Kaiba would take Kisara to a theme park for the afternoon. Didn't they both have work today? "Do, ah, you two want to eat with us? Jonouchi is out with Mai tonight," he added before Kaiba could snap his declination.

Kisara looked up at Kaiba as though asking for approval. "Excuse us for a moment, Yugi," Kaiba said to the shorter male, who retreated back to the table cautiously.

"It's cool, we can eat just us," Kisara said, nodding as she smiled.

"Would you like to have dinner with your friends?" Kaiba asked, ignoring her.

"No, it's okay," she repeated, waving him off. She started to move towards an open booth but Kaiba grabbed her wrist.

"We can eat with them. I don't care. That _make-inu _is not here to stink up the place so they are tolerable without their pet," Kaiba said, and Kisara smiled despite Kaiba's insults.

"Really?"

"This is a one time thing," Kaiba said and Kisara smiled, looping her arm through his and leading him towards Yugi's booth. Anzu, Yugi, and Honda looked surprised, Kaiba looked completely indifferent, and Kisara grinned widely.

"Is it still okay if Seto and I join you for dinner?" she asked sweetly. Yugi looked at Kaiba as though Kaiba were going to yell but the CEO stayed quiet, seeming to let Kisara dictate the evening.

"Yeah, of course," Yugi said, and he moved over to Kaiba and Kisara to move into the booth next to him. Honda and Anzu sat across of them and seemed very confused as well. "So, uh, how was Kaiba Land?"

"Fantastic!" Kisara squealed, clapping her hands. "It was wonderful. The rides are awesome and the games are so fun! I almost beat Seto in chess!"

Kaiba scoffed. "It does not matter whether or not you _almost _won. You were careless and you lost."

"Rematch me then."

"I have no need to challenge someone I have already beaten."

"You scared?" she teased, and flashed Yugi a grin. "I got Seto down to three pieces." She raised the appropriate amount of fingers to emphasize her point.

Yugi raised his eyebrows, impressed. He was also impressed that there was no underlying tone of malice in Kaiba's voice. "I am not _scared_. I just do not wish to waste my time."

Kisara rolled her eyes playfully. "He's scared."

Kaiba merely scoffed again, rolling his eyes at her teasing. "You're very annoying."

"_You're _very annoying," she replied, sticking her tongue out, making Kaiba sigh exasperatedly.

"How you deal with her is completely beyond me. She is a child," Kaiba told Yugi, who chuckled. That was probably one of the first times that Kaiba actuallly really spoke to Yugi.

"_You're _a child."

Kaiba rolled his eyes as Kisara seemed to prove his point. The waitress came around and asked what everyone would like to order. Anzu ordered some pasta, Honda a miso butterfish, and Yugi ordered a chicken madeira. "Can I start with melon soda and edamame?" Kisara asked.

Kaiba's response was immediate. "That better not be all you're eating." It was more of a threat than a friendly statement so Kisara grinned sheepishly. "Bring us both beef filet. Medium rare."

Kisara opened her mouth to argue but the waitress already thanked them and left. "Eeeh? Why do you always do that?"

"Because if someone doesn't feed you, you'll simply shrivel up and die," Kaiba said. Kisara argued playfully while the three other people just watched, completely in awe. Kaiba wasn't nasty or rude, and actually seemed to be acting like a sincere human being. Of course the word 'sincere' was used loosely, as he did insult Kisara a bit, but the woman didn't seem to care. She actually looked like she _liked _being made fun of, like she knew that Kaiba didn't mean any of the semi-crude things he said.

And Yugi had a feeling that Kisara was right to believe that. Kaiba seemed…happier. Much, much happier than Yugi had ever really seen him. Though smiling or laughing was out of the question, Kaiba didn't seem too much of a lone wolf anymore, allowing Kisara to stay at his side. He even responded to Anzu and Yugi when they asked him questions about work and the Mini-K instead of simply writing them off as being too simple-minded to understand. Even Honda added a few comments here and there, cautiously, though, as though Kaiba would explode at him.

Yugi was glad that dinner was very pleasant. Kaiba was more polite than usual and Yugi could see in CEO's smallest actions that Kaiba did care for Kisara if just a little. He turned to her when he spoke, even if it was making fun of her, and Yugi did see Kaiba's eyes drift from his food to Kisara, making sure that she was eating. It was nice, actually. Those small gestures allowing Yugi to see a little into Kaiba Seto's mind.

The waitress brought by the check and everyone was ready to pay separately, but much to everyone's surprise, Kaiba swept the check from the table, dropped in his credit card and handed it back to the waitress before she even had the chance to leave.

"Ah, Kaiba, you really don't need to do that," Yugi said, making a face. "We're all planning on paying for our own food."

Kaiba didn't seem to hear as Kisara was trying to pay for her own food despite being tight on money and he was ignoring her as he drank his beer, occasionally shooting comments at her. Yugi knew that Kaiba heard him as his eyes flicked to Yugi when he had spoken, but Kaiba had _chosen _to ignore Yugi. Yugi figured it was because Kaiba probably couldn't justify paying for a group of people he so-called "hated" with any kind of sarcastic remark.

"It was really nice having dinner," Anzu said as they walked out of the restaurant.

"Yeah, it was fun," Kisara replied, still keeping her arm looped through Kaiba's, the CEO not caring that he was in such close quarters with a woman.

"We should do it again sometime," Yugi suggested, and at this Kisara looked up at Kaiba, who just sighed.

"Fine," he said and Kisara grinned.

"Wow, that sounds great." Yugi grinned and Kisara pumped her free hand victoriously. "Thanks again for paying for dinner, Kaiba."

But Kaiba ignored him again, starting for his car. "It was wonderful seeing all of you today. Please drive safely, Anzu-_san_," Kisara called back, waving as Kaiba seemed to be dragging her away. "Bye, Yugi-_san_, bye Honda-_san_!"

"Bye," the two men said, lifting their hands to wave as Kaiba clicked open his Lexus. Yugi couldn't help but smile. Things were beginning to change.

"What was up with you today?" Kisara asked as he drove her home.

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know, you were like, beating me up."

Kaiba furrowed his brows. "What?"

"Yeah, like, when you snatched my wrist and squeezed me at _Galaga_ and crushed your hand into my head after chess. Are you seriously mad at me? I can't tell," Kisara said, sounding very confused herself.

Kaiba shifted uncomfortably. My _God_, this was embarrassing. "Mokuba. Said. That those kinds of actions. Would…show…affection."

Kisara needed a beat to gather her thoughts and she opened her mouth as though to say something meaningful but instead she howled with laughter. "What? You nearly break my wrist and suffocate me to show me you care? You make jokes about us sleeping together but at this rate, I don't think I could survive it!"

Kaiba blushed furiously. Of all the reactions she could have given, she had _laughed_. He was such a fool. Drop her off on the side of the road! Make the uncomfortable feeling stop! But she calmed down quickly, placing her hand over his on the stick shift. She flashed him a sweet smile. "I say this a lot but you know that I do think you're really cute. Not just physically, but the things you do. I really appreciate your effort, you know. I'm…so happy that you want to express yourself a little more to me that I don't…even have the words. I do tell you that you're amazing but I hope you know that I mean it. I'm so glad that you're in my life."

Kaiba didn't respond. She had seemed condescending at first but her words now were those of appreciation. _Appreciation_ for Kaiba's extraordinarily awkward attempts to let Kisara know that he really…was starting to care about the stubborn, quirky silver haired woman. He was humbled – humbled by a low-middle class woman that had a heart made of…real gold. He found himself…wanting to treasure her. She treated him like a human being – like he was just like everyone else, but Kaiba Seto had never felt more special in his entire life.

She was changing everything. But as Kisara laced her fingers with his, Kaiba honestly did not care at all.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Updates might slow down. I have only written until chapter nineteen so far and summer school and work have gotten busy so the updates might be farther apart while I try to catch up with the story. Sorry about that, but thanks for understanding! **


	17. Chapter 17: Did You Forget?

Kaiba stood outside of Kisara's apartment. After tutoring, she had asked Kaiba to come by her new apartment at eight instead of going together, but Kaiba didn't mind because he still needed to shower and prepare. Then at seven forty he dropped by her new place. It was a lot nicer than her previous one in the ghettos of Domino, but still a modest little apartment.

She had come into work the day after the fair, freaking out about photos that hidden photographers seemed to have taken of them strolling around with her carrying Mini-Blu. Kaiba had brushed her off. "If I cared about what was printed about me in the media then I would not be standing here today," he assured her. "You should do the same."

Dressed in jeans and cream collared shirt under a black cashmere vest and black skinny tie, Kaiba was not sure if he was supposed to have bought flowers. It was certainly a very stupid question – why would he buy her _flowers_? But he couldn't ask Mokuba because he didn't want his younger brother to make a big deal, and also, _flowers_? _Really_? If that didn't spell out "desperate" then Kaiba didn't know what did.

So, he did not buy her flowers. But he found himself wishing that he did.

Kaiba knocked on the door and it was pulled open shortly. However, it was not the face he wanted to see.

"What da fuck?" Jonouchi snapped when he saw Kaiba standing outside his apartment. He was dressed in a button down shirt and jeans under a leather jacket. "What da hell're you doin' 'ere, Kaiba?"

"I would ask you the same question, _make-inu_. I thought this was an apartment complex, not a fucking pound," Kaiba snapped back immediately, looking down at the blonde with a scowl.

"Eeeeh? Seto, I said eight!" Kaiba heard Kisara say. She pulled open the door further and Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Also, Jonouchi-_san_, I thought you were going out with Mai tonight?"

"Yeah, but Honda ain't ready to leave. There ain't no way I'm lettin' 'im take out _my sister _for dinner wit'out me an' Mai bein' right there to make sure he ain't pullin' no funny stuff," Jou said, shooting a glare Honda's way. Honda was just fixing his shirt and flashed Jonouchi a sheepish grin. He lifted a hand to wave at Kaiba – as dinner had been nice and Kaiba had been generous enough to pay even though he and Honda were not exactly friends – and the CEO surprisingly nodded curtly in acknowledgement of the greeting.

"There also ain't no way that Kaiba's comin' into my house," Jonouchi said, standing like a guard to a castle. Kaiba was mildly unaffected, but still shot daggers at Jonouchi with icy cold eyes.

"It's my house, too," Kisara said, frowning. "Please, Jonouchi-_san_. For me."

Jonouchi narrowed his eyes at Kisara as though trying to be mad but he threw his hands in the air. Jonouchi also saw Mai's convertible pull up, knowing he had to leave soon anyway. "Aaaghhhh, okay, fine, fine! For you, then, Kisa-_chan_. But make sure he's gone when me an' Honda come back."

"Come back late then, please," she said sweetly, allowing Kaiba into the house as Jonouchi stepped out.

"An' everything he sits on or touches, we washin' tomorrow," he said, waving Kisara off as he headed downstairs, yelling at Honda to hurry up. Honda bade Kaiba and Kisara a quick goodbye and a good dinner before he followed his best friend downstairs. Kisara closed the door and turned, only to be met with Kaiba's cold stare.

"You forgot to mention that your new roommate was that _make-inu _Jonouchi," Kaiba snapped, looking foul. "To put this completely flatly, I do not like him. The degree in which I do not like him exceeds that of hatred, loathing, abhoration – whichever word you might prefer. He is a filthy _dog_ and _I don't like him_."

"I know, but they offered me a great deal, and I really love this place," Kisara said, seeming honestly sorry. "Jonouchi-_san _is not really that bad; he has always been kind to me. But if you want to go out and have dinner outside then we can go."

Kaiba glanced at the kitchen, and Kisara had already taken out groceries and started pre-cooking their dinner. He sighed, shaking his head. "It's fine."

Kisara smiled and nodded. "Great," she said, sliding back into the kitchen. Kaiba sat at the counter, watching her. He already knew that he was no Gordon Ramsey and decided to just let Kisara take care of the cooking, which she didn't mind. They chatted about several things regarding work and school, and then Kisara brought both plates to the coffee table, asking Kaiba to grab water from the tap for her, and pull a beer from the fridge.

"Oh, yeah, I wanted to tell you now before it got late," she said, slicing a piece of her steak. She had asked Honda to quickly teach her how to make beef filet, and while she knew it wasn't the best, she hoped that Kaiba liked it. "I know it's like, two months away, but for Christmas, my brother is flying my parents, sister and I out to Europe. The trip is supposed to last two weeks, from before Christmas over into the New Year's and then _Nii-sama _wants us to go to Nevada and stay with him in Las Vegas. But if that's too long then I can come back. I just wanted to run it by you before I told him anything."

Kaiba sighed slightly. "It's fine. Enjoy your family trip."

Kisara was surprised that Kaiba didn't even scold her at all or say anything even the slightest bit sarcastic. Two weeks was a long time for the lead programmer to be away while working on a new project, and Kisara had been prepared to let her brother know that she would be leaving after Europe, but Kaiba had simply given her the okay.

"Do you want to come?" Kisara asked, tossing the suggestion out there. She seemed quite enthusiastic about the thought, nodding at her own idea. "I think it would be fantastic if you came along with me and my family!"

"Understand that you and I are not dating and therefore I do not have the right to attend a family trip. I am your superior," Kaiba reminded her, eating the steak and taking a sip from his beer. "I also am not adept at meeting families and I do not plan to do anything like that with you any time soon. Do you understand?"

His words hadn't been sharp or harsh at all, and she didn't hear any anger behind them, but Kisara tried to brush off the hurt nonetheless. She laughed a little. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. It was just a thought. Sorry."

Kaiba felt a little bad, but it was the truth. He and Kisara were co-workers – _friends _was pushing it, even now – but he just…didn't want to let himself get any closer. The rate that their relationship had been going was proficient enough and Kaiba knew that if he met her family, he would only grow attached to her. While he didn't mind that she changed certain things, Kaiba knew that there needed to be a line.

"Do not apologize, I was simply answering the question and providing an explanation for the reason I declined," Kaiba told her. "There is no need to apologize, but just understand that this is a one-time thing."

Kisara smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I know."

She changed the subject back to work – it was the only thing she seemed to know how to talk about constantly with Kaiba – and when they were finished with dinner, Kaiba helped her bring the dishes to the kitchen. "I'll clean up, you can go check the stocks or something. It'll be quick."

Kaiba stepped forward as though to offer to help, but then changed his mind. This was supposed to be a date and yet Kaiba couldn't help but feel like the least intimate person on the planet. He didn't know how to initiate romance, or show affection properly. Yes, he did care for her somewhat, but now it was just getting dangerous. He couldn't help but feel like the typical angsty teenager that led on a helpless young girl.

But he wasn't leading her on, right? He did care for her. There just needed to be boundaries. And she didn't seem to care, Kisara looked content with the way their relationship was going and where it was now so Kaiba didn't see any reason why he felt so…empty.

He sat at the couch and did what she suggested; turned on the television to watch the news while she washed the plates, utencils, pots and pans that she used to make their simple home-cooked meal. It was delicious. Perhaps Kaiba should suggest they go out for dessert.

No, dammit. Didn't he just try to remind himself about boundaries?

"Seto," Kisara said, and he looked up at the sound of his name being called. "Come here for a second." The older man did as he was told, making his way to the counter.

"What is it?"

"I made you something," Kisara said with a bright smile. "But you have to turn around and close your eyes and ears."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "I apologize once again, Ryusei, but I am certainly not that kinky."

Kisara laughed, waving her hand. "It's nothing bad. Just do it. Please?"

The older man turned his back to the kitchen and crossed his arms over his chest as she flicked off the light. He heard her briefly opening the refrigerator. "Cover your ears!" she said and Kaiba sighed again, holding his hands to his face. He could still hear her, however, but not clearly.

"And how will I know when to turn around?" he asked.

"Turn around," she said a little loudly, and Kaiba did so, and froze. She was holding a small cake, about eight inches in diameter with hand decorated swirls of white frosting and strawberries. It was lit with a few candles, and Kaiba flicked his eyes over the celebratory statement on it. _Happy Birthday, Seto!_

_"_What...is this?"

Kisara blinked a few times. "Did you forget that today was your birthday?"

Kaiba checked his watch. Indeed, it was the twenty-fifth of October. He hadn't even realized that today, he was twenty-four years old. He did remember Mokuba wishing him something of the sort in the morning but Mokuba didn't get Kaiba gifts as it would be Kaiba's money spent so they both agreed to not do that, even though Kaiba always took Mokuba out for dinner on his birthday. Kaiba never minded those things thought but honestly, he hadn't exactly been focused lately, thanks to this woman always on his mind. How did she know it was his birthday anyway? Never before in his entire life had he received a birthday cake, or even a present for that matter, but that was when Kaiba noticed the neatly wrapped gift on the counter. He felt his chest clench as she placed down the cake on the counter as well, clapping her hands together.

"Well, hot-shot, blow out the candle-" Kisara was abruptly interrupted by Kaiba grabbing both her shoulders and pressing his lips against hers. It was gentle and sweet, but demanding all at the same time. Kisara kissed back and when Kaiba pulled away, he kept his forehead against hers for a brief moment. Fuck boundaries. Kaiba could only feel his chest swell.

"Thank you, Kisara."

Kisara felt that one, right in her chest. Her entire body filled up with complete bliss over Kaiba saying her name and she couldn't stop smiling. "You're welcome," she said, kissing him very lightly. "Now blow out the candles before wax gets on the cake!"

Kaiba leaned over and blew out the candles, Kisara clapping and throwing her hands up as though he had just won a Duel Monsters tournament or something. She moved to flick on the lights. "Did you want to eat the cake?"

"Otherwise it would just sit there, wouldn't it?" Kaiba said and Kisara pulled a knife from the kitchen. Kaiba gently took it from her - God forbid _Kisara _with a knife - and cut the cake into eighths, a strawberry in each of the slices. "Did you make this?"

Kisara went back into the kitchen to grab two plates. "Yeah, I did most of it yesterday. The frosting I did after tutoring."

Kaiba merely nodded in understanding, carrying the cake to the coffee table by the couch. Kisara placed down the two plates and he proceeded into putting slices of cake on it. She sat next to him holding the gift. "I got you something," she said, placing it on his lap.

To be completely honest, Kaiba didn't exactly know what to do. He had never received a gift in his life. It was a little heavy. He just…sat there, and Kisara giggled. "Go on, open it!"

"You did not need to purchase a gift for me," Kaiba told her, lifting it to place it on her lap. "Please take it back."

"I wanted to buy you something," Kisara said with a smile, shifting the gift again. "Open it!"

"I—"

"Opeeeeeeeeeeeen iiiiiiiit! Open! Open it! Opeeeeeeeeeeeen, raaaaaghhhhhh," Kisara groaned, making faces at him until he finally sighed and undid the neatly wrapped shimmering blue paper. He lifted the cover to a box to see sixty book spines staring back at him.

"What is this?" he asked, lifting the first book. He was met with a _manga-_style drawing of three people cheering. The title of the book was "ONE PIECE" and he looked up at Kisara, puzzled. "I don't read _manga_."

"Well, I bought you sixty volumes, so you're gonna start," she said with a smile. "It's the first season of _One Piece_, and it's my absolute favorite. I think you'll really love it as well. It's a fantastic story and I think the author is brilliant. He's a genius. _God_a Eiichiro, like…God. Oda. Eiichiro," she said, laughing at her own little joke. "Promise me you'll read it. Like, you'll try."

Kaiba sighed. He could not imagine himself reading _manga_, let alone something that looked so _cartoony _but for Kisara… "Sure," Kaiba said, placing the book back. He lifted the box from his lap and put it on the floor.

"Okay, so here's your real gift," she said, pulling a tiny box out from under the coffee table. "Open it!"

Kaiba didn't want to argue again, so he lifted the cover to the black box to see a pearly white tie with a royal blue dragon snaking up the length of it. Kisara grinned. "I hope it's not to corny, but I thought it looked nice. I asked Saito-_san _from that tailor shop to have it done for me and he was really nice about it."

"Thank you," he said, turning his attention to the cake to lift Kisara's plate to her.

"I'm glad you like it. Wanna watch a movie or something and eat cake?" she asked, standing up. "Well it's not really a movie. Just this super funny _anime_. Wanna watch?" she asked, holding her Lego USB in her hand.

"I don't seem to have a choice," Kaiba said, not really caring either way.

She plugged the USB into the flat screen television and with the remote, selected a certain folder with video files. "I download all of my _anime_. I like to have all of it for rewatching and sharing," she said, choosing _Nichijou Episode 1_. An extremely happy theme song started to blare and Kaiba couldn't help but sigh.

Kisara lifted her plate of cake to take some bites and together, she and Kaiba watched the first episode of the slice of life comedy. Even though she had watched it before, she still burst out laughing and Kaiba, to his own surprise, found it very amusing. "Wanna watch the second one?" she asked, and he just scoffed in response, so she put on episode two.

To Kisara's surprise, Kaiba actually tried to discuss the show with her a little, and she was happy that he seemed to like it. It was one of her favorite comedies. Kisara ended up sitting sidewards on the couch with her legs draped gently over Kaiba's lap. He didn't seem to care, resting his arms on it as he watched more episodes with her. It actually felt…comfortable. No, more than that. It felt right.

But it also seemed like no time passed when the front door was pushed open, revealing Jonouchi and Honda, back from their double date. Jonouchi's eyes moved from Kisara to Kaiba, and then to her legs over him. She shifted immediately, standing up. "Sorry, I didn't know you guys were coming home," she said. The birthday cake was still out – Kisara and Kaiba had two slices each – and Kisara checked her phone. She sighed at the missed calls from Jonouchi. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you called. We were just watching _Nichijou_."

"Get outta my house, Kaiba," Jonouchi said, ignoring Kisara.

Kaiba stood up as well, glaring at the blonde. "As though I would torture myself through being in the same room as a filthy animal like you. I'll have you know that I will be burning these clothes so your fleas don't intrude my own house."

"Fuck you, Kaiba. Get out," Jonochi snapped, annoyed. It seemed like he and Mai hadn't exactly had it easy tonight, and Jonouchi wasn't in the mood to think of witty comments. He just wanted Kaiba out. Kisara took that hint and wrapped up the cake and all of Kaiba's gifts. Honda greeted Kaiba again, but this time he was ignored as the CEO swept out the front door with the box of _manga _under his arm so Kisara didn't need to carry the heavy box.

Kisara walked Kaiba all the way down to his Lexus and sighed, running her free hand through her hair. "I'm sorry. Jonouchi-_san _probably didn't have the best night."

"You do not need to apologize for that scum," Kaiba told her immediately. He helped her put the things in the car. He turned to her. "Thank you for dinner tonight."

Kisara's sweet smile was back. "You're welcome. I hope you had a lovely birthday."

"I did," he answered honestly. He leaned down and their lips met once again, sweetly, as Kaiba tried to gently communicate his gratitude to her. It seemed to get through, as she was still smiling brightly when they broke apart. "Good night, Kisara."

Kisara waved as he backed out of the parking stall. "Good night, Seto."


	18. Chapter 18: Pillows & Sunday Traditions

The months passed on rather uneventfully. The weather changed, becoming colder as winter really set in, but it wasn't unbearable. Kisara's team managed to meet all their deadlines, and she and Kaiba had lunch together everyday. It took much convincing, but Kaiba would sometimes come to Kisara's apartment when Jonouchi wasn't there to watch _Nichijou_.

Today, a Saturday some time in late November – was a study date, and Kisara was at Kaiba's penthouse now with all her books. Kaiba had set up his computer and the like in his room, while Kisara did her work at a nearby desk.

All of a sudden, she burst up. "Seto!" she cried, catching the young CEO's attention.

"What?" he asked, looking up. She looked rather panicked. "Do you need to go home and grab something?"

"No," she said, looking frantic. "But we have to grab all the pillows in the house!"

"What?" Kaiba asked, furrowing his brows.

"The pillows! We have to grab them!" Kisara repeated, scrambling around the room to pile Kaiba's pillows on his bed. She darted out to go into Mokuba's game room and guest room, as well as Mokuba's room, and the living room to grab every last pillow. Kaiba followed, snatching up the fluffy material, rather confused.

"What are you doing?" Kaiba asked as she piled them on his bed.

"Quick, set up your computer on the bed! And grab my books and stuff too!" Kisara said, still frantic. Kaiba didn't understand and just decided to do what she said, shifting his laptop and her textbooks to the edge of the bed.

"Do you have like, Christmas lights?" Kisara asked.

"_What_?"

"Christmas lights! Do you have them?"

Kaiba sighed and moved to the closet where Mokuba kept holiday things and brought back a string of Christmas lights for Kisara. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Quickly, Seto, go on the bed!" she said, starting to arrange the pillows and blankets, flinging the Christmas lights messily around Kaiba's four poster bed. Kaiba did as he was told, and when Kisara was done fussing, he rolled his eyes.

She had built a pillow fort. And Kaiba was trapped. Kisara grinned, plugging in the lights and diving under the pillow fort next to him. "You think you're smart?" Kaiba sighed as Kisara just laughed.

"I'm a genius."

Kaiba merely scoffed, but didn't move. He didn't have much to do today, and Kisara was actually being cute and so…just for now, he let himself ease up. She was reading, too, lying on her stomach next to him, but then after some time, all of a sudden, she collapsed face-first into the book. Kaiba looked up to see her looking completely lifeless.

"Kisara?"

She turned and smiled. "I love when you use my name."

Kaiba averted his eyes, blushing slightly. Since his birthday, he never really used her first name – it still felt a little awkward – but he certainly had not expected her to say something like that.

Kisara smiled and rolled onto her back, holding her arms up. "Hug."

"I don't give hugs," Kaiba said, moving his eyes back to his computer. "And I-I'm doing work. Don't you have finals to study for or something?"

"You're not doing work," she teased all-knowingly.

"I most certainly am."

"Take a break," she said, keeping her arms up. "Let's hug."

"I don't give hugs."

"Voldemort gives hugs. I'm sure you can."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Kisara laughed. "I'm gonna go to Hogwarts so I can get hugs from the Dark Lord."

"_What_?"

"Come give me a hug, damn you."

"'Damn, you'? Why should I _hug _someone who just _damned _me?"

"Because it was a damn made with love, duh."

Kaiba scoffed. "That sounds like something an extremely deranged person would say. Do you need to go to the hospital to get your brain checked?"

The woman giggled, wiggling her fingers. "Maybe I'll be cured if you hug me."

"Why do you insist we do work together when you are merely a distraction?"

"'Cause I'm the best kind of distraction," she said completely seriously. She nodded when Kaiba merely narrowed his eyes. "True story."

"Read your book."

"_Hug me now_!"

"Shut up!"

Kisara made the saddest face possible, creasing her brows and pushing out her bottom lip ever so slightly. "I just…want a hug. It's free, too. It won't cost you anything to hug me. Please…Seto?"

Kaiba faltered for a moment. Damn her for being so cute! "Fine," he snapped, placing his computer aside. Kisara kept her arms out with a smile. "Well, get up so we can get this over with."

"I want a lying-down hug."

"What?"

"Yeah. Come hug me here," she said, wiggling her fingers again. Kaiba opened his mouth to protest. "Seto, you promised you'd never lie. If you said you're going to give me a hug and then you don't hug me, then you _lied_. You'd be a _liar _and I'll never forgive you!"

"And then perhaps you will leave me alone. How blissful my life would be without you."

Kisara giggled. "Aw, you don't mean that."

"I do."

"Oh, are we getting married now? 'I do' also!"

"My _God_."

"Just give me the hug, dammit! You've wasted much more time not wanting to hug me."

Kaiba sighed and shifted awkwardly, leaning over Kisara. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed him against her, Kaiba not sure how much weight he should shift incase he was too heavy and ended up awkwardly suffocating her. She knew that he wasn't good at this affection thing. They had never hugged before and she wasn't keen on starting with standing or sitting hugs so Kaiba couldn't help but feel awkward.

She allowed Kaiba to pull back a little and he was greeted with his favorite smile. "See? That wasn't bad, was it?"

Kaiba merely scoffed, looking away. It had actually felt…nice. Kisara nibbled on her lip a little. "We can kiss now, though, if you'd rather do that." She turned his face slightly, and he lowered his face to her own without any verbal answer, their lips meeting. No matter how many times they kissed, the electricity that Kaiba felt in that instant their lips touched never weakened. His chest tightened as he deepened the kiss, using his tongue to explore her mouth, flicking against hers briefly, sparks flying across his body with each touch. Kaiba held her tighter, the two of them completely and utterly absorbed in each other as Kisara's slender fingers wrapped around bits of Kaiba's deep brown hair. His entire body rumbled with a desire he had never felt before in his life as her lips seemed to move desperately, passionately.

And then Kaiba broke the kiss without warning, finding himself out of breath. He knew that if he allowed his body to respond to Kisara's passion then…who knows what would have happened? He lifted himself off her immediately, trying to quell the storm of emotions rising within him. He wiped his lips with the back of his palm, shifting his eyes away from Kisara breathing heavily as she tried to regain herself as well. "You're a distraction," he said quietly.

Kisara laughed a little, still attempting to catch her breath. "Yeah, I'm sorry," she said, running a hand through her hair as she propped herself up. She sat up and crossed her legs, placing her book on her lap. It had been a while since Kaiba had experienced that kind of passion and didn't…want anything to endanger his current relationship with Kisara. It was innocent; they were somewhat friends and while not completely platonic, it was currently in a comfortable zone and Kaiba would rather keep it that way than try to pursue anything more.

He didn't have time for relationships. He didn't have enough time to give Kisara the effort that she deserved in a romantic relationship and therefore he decided that no matter what, he would not press for any more than a simple kiss. She seemed fine with it, although right now, she looked a little embarrassed, like she knew she had overstepped a line.

"Kisara," Kaiba said, moving his computer onto his lap and leaning against the headboard. She turned slightly as though afraid to be yelled at. "It's fine. I'm not mad."

"Okay," she said, letting out a breath of relief. "Sorry, I don't even know what happened."

"Well, you are a hot-blooded woman and I can only assume you have urges you need to satisfy as well. It's alright, just contain yourself next time."

Kisara's jaw dropped playfully. "Don't even!"

"What?"

"That wasn't all me."

"Yes, it was."

"No, it wasn't. You were on top."

"I pulled away."

"Because you got scared."

Kaiba clenched his jaw. "I can assure you that's not the case."

The silver hair woman merely giggled, waving him off. "Whatever."

They quickly got back to doing work, Kisara crawling next to Kaiba near the bedpost. She started to read again, but then quickly drifted off to sleep. Kaiba sighed as she leaned against him but he didn't have it in him to move her. He just did his work while Kisara slept. She did mention something about being tired on Saturdays.

Mokuba pushed open the door after some time. He had come home wondering where all the couch pillows went and chuckled upon seeing his elder brother sitting in a fort of them in his room with Kisara. Kaiba looked up. "What is it?" he said quietly, hoping that his brother would not mention anything about him sitting in a pillow house lined with Christmas lights.

"I'm gonna start dinner. Is she staying?"

Kaiba glanced down at her sleeping form and sighed again. "Looks like it."

Mokuba smiled, glad that his brother actually seemed…happy. "Great. I'll call you when it's ready."

* * *

><p>"Ooooooh, come on. It'll be fun," Kisara pleaded, tugging on Kaiba's sleeve. The following Sunday, the first Sunday in December was a bit chilly so Kaiba had shrugged on a royal blue thermal longsleeve. The heater was on so it wasn't too cold in his house.<p>

However, Kisara had come over and she was tugging him to go outside.

"Why in the _world _would I want to spend time with you _and _Yugi _and _his group of cheerleaders?" Kaiba asked, taking his arm back. He glued himself to the couch, but Kisara didn't move. "You may go if you wish. I'm not stopping you."

"But I want you to come," Kisara said. "Come on, it'll be fun, we're just going to play some games, eat some food. You know, hang out with friends!"

"I don't need friends," Kaiba responded coldly. It was so easy for Kisara to enjoy spending time with others because she was naturally sociable. Kaiba was not and honestly felt a little awkward around other people that were not Mokuba and Kisara. However, it was not in his personality to tell Kisara that was the reason why he did not wish to attend.

"Oh, but everyone is going to be there. It's going to be so much fun. Yugi told me about his friend Bakura-_san _that is coming, and Ryuji-_san _will be there, too-"

The time that it took Kaiba to sling on his coat and slam the door behind him was a matter of a few seconds and before she knew it, Kisara was sitting in the passenger seat of Kaiba's Lexus as he sped down the road to Yugi's house. What had suddenly changed his mind, Kisara didn't know, but she was quite happy. She really wanted Kaiba to start being a little more social with others.

When they arrived at Yugi's house, however, the older man seemed a little hesitant once again. Kisara looped her arm through his. "Come on, it'll be fun. They invited you, too, you know, so they want you to be here."

Kaiba didn't say anything, just walked with Kisara to the front door, where she knocked. Yugi pulled it open with a smile, obviously expecting to see the silver haired woman alone, as he looked surprised upon seeing Kaiba. "Hey," he greeted, grinning. "Come in."

Kaiba let Kisara walk in first and she kicked off her shoes, joining everyone else on the couch, greeting and happily shaking hands with Bakura Ryou. "Thanks for coming," Yugi said, taking Kaiba's coat and slinging it onto the rack near the door. "It's nothing big, you know. Just some games and food."

"Kisara already told me," Kaiba said, following Yugi to the couch. If the smaller male was surprised at Kaiba's use of Kisara's first name, then he didn't show it. Kaiba didn't care either way, placing himself next to the silver haired woman on the couch. Honda and Jonouchi were playing some kind of video game, and Kaiba scowled. Kisara did not mention the blonde being here today.

"He promised to be nice," Kisara said quietly, looping her arm with his once more. It was a small gesture but to Kaiba, it established a sort of reassurance. He felt a little silly about it - being physically touched to establish that kind of feeling, but it was nice nonetheless. "Please be nice, too, okay?"

Kaiba grunted in response but Kisara decided to take that as a yes, picking up a pair of controllers and handing one to Kaiba. "Let's join in on the next game."

Anzu and Yugi exchanged looks. There was no way that Kaiba was going to be on the same _team _as any other human being. But the two of them were surprised as Kaiba merely said, "Fine," and left it at that. They joined Jonouchi and Honda in the next round like Kisara said and completely dominated, much to Jonouchi's dismay. He yelled and got upset but never once even looked back at Kaiba and the CEO paid no attention to the blonde. It was troublesome that the two of them disliked each other so strongly but it wasn't awkward or unbearable as long as they didn't speak to one another.

The round ended quite quickly and Kisara cheered, holding her hand up for Kaiba to high-five. The CEO sighed and reluctantly lifted his hand for her to slap as hard as she possibly could as though making up for him not reciprocating the gesture. Everyone chuckled lightly.

"Kisara, wanna help me grab some drinks and food?" Ryuji asked, standing up.

"Oh, yeah, sure," she replied, lifting herself off the seat. Kaiba instantly found himself annoyed. "Do you want anything to drink, Seto?"

"Beer will suffice," Kaiba said curtly, and she nodded, heading off with Ryuji into the kitchen, already talking about something that, of course, Kaiba couldn't give a flying fuck about. The only thing he wanted was for that womanizer to stay the hell away from Kisara. However, he refused to let his expression give that away so instead he passed the controller and merely watched another round of the shooting game progress.

It seemed like an eternity before Kisara and Ryuji emerged from the kitchen holding bags of chips and several drinks. Kaiba thought for a split second that she was going to sit with Ryuji on the second couch, but she returned to Kaiba's side with an ice cold bottle of Asahi. A wave of relief washed through him. "Wanna see something awesome?" she asked, not handing the bottle to him yet.

"Not particularly."

"RAAAAGHHHHH," Kisara roared, seeming to use all her strength to twist off the bottle cap with her forearm. Kaiba rolled his eyes at her silly antics as everyone else chuckled. She took a swig before handing it to Kaiba, making a face. "I don't like beer."

"Then don't drink it," Kaiba said, sipping from it as well.

"You know, in the language of children, you and I just kissed."

"You're the only one of us that speaks like a child."

"Not eveeeeen," she said, making a face at him again. "_You're _a child."

"How does no one else in this room see what I'm seeing? Are you a sorcerer? Have you been creating some illusion that you're not two fucking years old?"

Kisara laughed. "_You're _two effing years old."

Kaiba sighed exasperatedly and Kisara just laughed. Everyone was quite surprised that Kisara was able to engage in such harmless banter with Kaiba, but no one questioned it. It was becoming a bit...normal for Kaiba and Kisara to act the way they did. It was actually a little cute. Until, of course, Kaiba would mumble something like, "One of these days I'm going to murder you." But Kisara just laughed, pushing him playfully. Normally that sort of gesture would cause Kaiba to explode, but he was unaffected.

"In real life or in video games? 'Cause I mean, I'm pretty sure I've been wiping the floor with your pretty face in the latter," she teased, sticking her tongue out.

"I'm seriously going to kill you."

"Not if I kill you first."

"In real life for in video games? Because I can do the former much quicker, and no one would know nor care."

Kisara just laughed again, taking up a controller as Jonouchi and Honda put theirs aside. She handed a different controller to Kaiba. "Alright, let's settle this once and for all."

"I have already defeated you in video games." He tossed the controller back at her and it successfully smacked her face. But she laughed - how Kisara had so much laughter stored in her tiny body was beyond Kaiba's comprehension - and brushed him off.

"You beat me in chess, I beat you in speed slice. We're tied."

"We are certainly not _tied_," Kaiba said incredulously.

"Box me then. A raw test of strength, like _Hajime no Ippo_!" Kisara said, making victory poses. She started weaving her head and ducking in a figure-eight, her punches rolling with the movement. "_NIHON NO _CHAMPION MAKUNOUCHI IPPOOOOO! THE DEMPSEY ROLL EXPLODES!"

"No one understands your _anime _references."

"Oh, but they should. _Hajime no Ippo _is an excellent _anime_. I haven't started reading the manga yet but I'm going to soon when I don't have work to do."

He turned to Yugi. "She never stops talking, even if it is about things I don't give a shit about."

"I'm gonna beat you down, Seto," Kisara said, turning on the boxing game. She tossed him back the remote again and he took it this time, standing up. "If I win, you're going to give me a piggy back ride whenever I ask."

"What are you, five?"

"Almost twenty-three."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the fact that she answered a rhetorical question. "Fine, although I can assure you that I will be giving no 'piggy back rides' to anyone any time soon."

"If by 'no' you mean 'yes, 'anyone' you mean me, and 'any time' you mean after I kick your ass."

"What do I get if I win?"

"Anything you want," she said with a shrug. "But within reason! Not something stupid."

"I do not make unfeasible requests. However, if I win," Kaiba started slowly. "You will stay in Japan with me, always; no matter what happens, or who says anything about it."

Kisara wasn't sure how to respond to that. No one else knew what to make of it either. Kisara smiled sweetly, Kaiba's favorite expression of hers. "Okay. If you win, I will cling to your legs and follow you wherever you go, Seto! No matter what happens, I will be at your doorstep, ready to cater to your every need!"

Kaiba sighed exasperatedly. "That is certainly _not _what I am bargaining for."

She laughed again and started the match, putting her fists up. The first round was so excruciatingly awkward for Kaiba that it was a little uncomfortable for everyone else to watch. Kisara easily got Kaiba's character down three times and won the first match by TKO. They had agreed best out of three and Kisara was already cheering about her victory, which made Kaiba narrow his eyes at her.

"Just because I don't flail like a wild animal does not give you the right to celebrate prematurely," Kaiba assured her. "There are two more rounds in which I can defeat you."

"I'd absolutely love to see you try, bitch," Kisara challenged, and indeed, in the next round, Kaiba won. He had gotten a little used to the game and knocked her character down three time with carefully timed counter punches that landed square hits whenever she faltered in her punches to try to rest.

"Who is the bitch now?"

She shoved him playfully. "Not fair."

"Oh, what was that? A light breeze from a butterfly flapping its wings ten kilometers away?" Kaiba resonded, brushing off his shoulder again as Kisara giggled and pushed him.

"Oh, stop."

"Then don't push me."

The bell rang and the round began. "Then surrender."

"Absolutely not," Kaiba told her, his character taking a right straight to the face. He lifted his arms to guard but Kisara playfully shoved him again. Kaiba made a move to do the same, as he had experienced her little shoves before and could kind of gauge the appropriate strength and positioning of his arm as not to make it look aggressive. However, he was much heavier and taller than her and he probably should have figured that, of course, he was extremely awkward with that sort of affectionate play and ended up elbowing her straight in the face.

"Shit," he muttered as he seemed to watch in slow motion as she clutched her eye. He sighed, dropping the controller as he and Yugi sat her on the couch.

"I'll get ice or something," Yugi said, disappearing into the kitchen. No one was mad – in fact, everyone including Kisara was actually laughing.

"Well, that wasn't nice," she teased, giggling as she put her controller down. "I think I should win that one by decision."

"Fine," Kaiba said, rubbing his eyes and temples. "Sorry."

Everyone kind of turned their heads very slightly at that. Kaiba was…_apologizing_? There was no hint of sarcasm, no bitterness or reluctance; it was a truly sincere apology. Not that Kisara didn't deserve one after being nailed in the face, but it was shocking coming from Kaiba nonetheless.

Kisara just smiled as Yugi brought a bag of ice for her face. "It's okay. I get piggy back rides forever now, though, right?"

Kaiba sighed exasperatedly. "Right."

She grinned. "Then it was totally worth it."

The rest of the afternoon passed by rather nicely. Kisara was there for Kaiba to help him in conversation without being too obvious about it, and everyone except Jonouchi seemed to be open to trying to accept Kaiba as a friend. Jonouchi did leave early, however, as he had something with Mai, so the tension in the room soon decreased.

Time seemed to fly and before Kaiba even knew it, it was late and people were starting to head back home. He stood up as well, following Kisara to the front door to grab his coat. Yugi met him there while Kisara was saying goodbye to everyone.

"We're actually thinking of getting together every Sunday to try to honestly hang out; it's a little hard with our senior year and everything, but it's worth a try. I think you should come every week," Yugi suggested with a bright smile.

Kaiba glanced up at Kisara, who was grinning at everyone as she gave out hugs without a care in the world and sighed. She looked so happy that it was hard for Kaiba to not want to come every week to see her this way. She seemed so comfortable around these people and to be completely honest, Kaiba had actually…enjoyed himself. Kaiba Seto had _enjoyed _the company of other people. Yugi and his friends were so forgiving of what happened while they were all involved with Duel Monsters and it actually surprised Kaiba that they were all so friendly to him despite everything he had done.

But now, looking at Kisara, none of that even mattered. So Kaiba merely exhaled slightly. "We'll see."

The answer was good enough for Yugi, as the younger male nodded. "Great. Hope to see the both of you next week, then!"

Kaiba didn't reply as Kisara came up to him, taking her coat from the rack. She had two jackets, being very sensitive to the cold and Kaiba assisted in helping her get them on but spun on his heels and walked out the door before anyone was even tempted to say anything about it. Kisara bowed to Yugi. "Thanks for inviting Seto and I. I had a lot of fun and I'm sure that he did, too."

"Yeah, definitely," Yugi said with a nod. "Drive safely."

Kisara nodded, bidding Yugi farewell as she hurried to catch up with Kaiba. She put all of her strength into her legs and leapt onto his back. He seemed to have been expecting it and caught her easily, hooking his arms around her legs. She grinned, her silver hair falling over his broad shoulders. "Hi."

"What do you want?"

"Just saying hi."

"You done? We're going to be at the car in about ten seconds."

"What was with you today?" she asked, sounding a little confused. "During boxing."

"I have already apologized for striking you."

"No, the other thing," she said as Kaiba let her down near the Lexus. "The love confession."

"Did you and I just experience the same day or were you off somewhere else? I can assure you that no such thing happened this afternoon."

"You asked me to stay," Kisara said. "To stay in Japan with you, always."

Kaiba looked away. He was hoping that she wasn't going to ask about that. That was such a stupid request; he couldn't _believe_ that he said something like that but he couldn't help but think about the looming shadow of Pegasus ready to strike and steal away the one person that had ever made Kaiba feel human. That was…honestly, the last thing Kaiba wanted, besides her _asking _about it.

Kaiba got into the car without saying a word and Kisara slid into the passenger seat. "You know…that actually makes me a little sad," Kisara said, looking down at her hands. Kaiba was confused. Shouldn't she be _happy _that he said something stupid like that? She got happy about Kaiba making her _toast _but she was sad about him asking her to stay with him?

Women and their logic; Kaiba would never understand.

"I thought…that it was a given that I would always be with you. I don't plan on leaving Japan anytime soon and I guess it just sucks that you think that I would. We're friends, I mean…I want to be here with you. I wouldn't stay if I didn't want to, you know?" Kisara said, not really making eye contact with him. "I didn't think you had to ask for that sort of thing, or use it as a bet because I thought you knew that I'd stay no matter what."

"Well, then…promise me," Kaiba said quietly. He gripped the steering wheel, hating how embarrassing this was. "I promised you I would never lie. Promise me that you'll never leave."

Kisara turned and flashed him a sweet smile. Damn, Kaiba loved those smiles. "Of course," she said. "I promise."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Almost a hundred reviews; I'm truly grateful, thanks for all the reads and reviews. I'm glad that people like my story. Please feel free to follow me on Tumblr, too, therevengeissue[dot]tumblr[dot]com. I am addicted to Tumblr; I'm always on and I'd love to get to know people who read my shhhhhhhet. Summer school is done, I'm pretty sure I murdered my film class, so yay! Work is still busy, though, so please bear with me. Thanks again, have a lovely day.**


	19. Chapter 19: Special Day

Today was a very special day.

Kisara pushed open the doors clutching the latest issue of _Classy_. Last month she had gone to an interview and photoshoot and she was excited to review it with Kaiba, who had set up the interview for her and given her the day off to attend. It was a great experience and she was truly grateful that he had done it for her.

"Good morning, Seto," she said as she reached his desk. She grinned widely.

He looked up, glaring at her. "What the hell do you want?" he snapped, which took her off guard. She placed the magazine down on the desk, ignoring him. Maybe he was just grumpy because of the morning.

"My article came out today, I was thinking we could look it over," she said, flipping through it. "I wanted to ask you something afterwards, since, you know, I leave for my trip tomorrow and today's our last day together, so I want it to be awesome."

"Oh, yes, let's review your little fucking article," Kaiba snapped, ripping the magazine from her hands. She had a ten page spread titled "Bold and Beautiful New Minds". The beginning of the shoot was just Kisara posed in several outfits as the article talked about her role in Kaiba Corp. but towards the middle, she was with _Otogi Ryuji_, who was also a feature in this magazine for being a programmer on her team as well as his development of Dungeon Dice Monsters.

It wasn't that Kaiba didn't know that Ryuji was doing the interview as well, because Kaiba _had _known the title of the piece and everything, and he had allowed Kisara to attend, but it was the pictures of them together that pissed him off the most. She looked so happy in the pictures with Ryuji that it made Kaiba want to tear the magazine to shreds. And it was the end of the article that was annoying.

"…_Upon being asked if there are any women in his life, Otogi smiled a little, shifting his feet. 'Well, I think that Kisara-_chan _is one of the most beautiful women I have ever met.' Ryusei chose not to comment, merely responding with a laugh and agreeing to an afternoon lunch_…"

"I thought I did okay," Kisara said, looking through the beginning of the piece. "I was so happy, they let me keep all of the clothes and—"

"You embarrassed my company," Kaiba interrupted. "The article was supposed to be about describing the project and promoting it, not blabbering on about your personal life."

Kisara furrowed her brows. "I didn't say anything about my personal life. No one needs to know about that stuff because I'm just an employee here."

Kaiba scoffed. "You're right. No one gives the shit about the little happenings of your pathetic every day life, so you would be better off not speaking about them in a public fucking magazine while you are out there representing my company."

Kisara gained creases in her face as she pieced together what Kaiba was saying. "Are you mad because Ryuji-_san _was in the piece with me? Are you mad about the pictures? I'll have you know that Ryuji-_san _and I had nothing to do with the poses, we just did what the photographers wanted. Ryuji-_san _and I are just friends, you should know that already."

"How dare you? How _dare_ you insult me when without me, you'd still be dirt poor and living out on the streets?" Kaiba snapped. "Two months ago you were complaining about being seen in tabloids with me and now you are all over Otogi in a fucking colorspread?"

"What does Ryuji-_san _have to do with anything? Can't you just read the article and read what I actually said about the Mini-K—"

"You called it the _Mini-K _in a fucking magazine?" Kaiba flung the magazine back at her. "You are such an embarrassment. You know what? Take the rest of the fucking day off, go on your trip early, it infuriates me just seeing your face. Leave the country so that I will final-_fucking _-ly have _one _peaceful day to get ready for my own business trip tomorrow."

Kisara seemed visibly hurt by his words but picked up the magazine from the floor, tucking it under her arm. "Fine," she said quietly. "Have a lovely day, Kaiba-_shachou_." And with that, she left the building.

Kaiba sighed, running a hand through his hair. This close to the holidays and not only was everyone trying to take days off _for_ the holidays, but his lead programmer was going to be out of the country for two weeks while he was away on business. _Fourteen days _of Kisara not being with Kaiba. Since his birthday, Kaiba and Kisara spent nearly everyday together, even after work and on days she tutored Mokuba, and two weeks without her…Kaiba was unsure about his he felt about her leaving for so long.

Not that it could be helped now that he just screamed at her over…what? Nothing! Absolutely nothing. But he couldn't _stand _her being near Otogi Ryuji because Kaiba knew that if she had just met Otogi first, then perhaps she would stand at his side instead. Otogi was kind to her and he was charming and sociable – the complete opposite of Kaiba and the kind of man that was ideal in relationships whereas Kaiba was awkward and didn't have the time to give to Kisara. Otogi only worked part-time, however, and they hung out once in a while and probably conversed during work about things that she couldn't talk about with Kaiba simply because Kaiba didn't know how to talk about things that didn't regard work.

But it was too late now. She was leaving tomorrow and, well, that was that. She normally got over their fights relatively quickly and her trip to Europe would probably give her enough time.

Kisara didn't show up for lunch and Kaiba tried not to think about her enjoying a meal with Otogi. If he did, he knew he would probably flip all the tables on every floor and destroy the whole building before being satisfied. She didn't check in with him before she left at five, so Kaiba headed home alone, feeling empty. Perhaps he should call her and apologize.

No! He shook the thought from his head. She was always quick to get over things and there was no need to apologize. She couldn't say that she liked going on dates with Kaiba and then pose happily with Otogi holding her bridal style moments later.

Kaiba thought that Otogi should have picked up that Kisara was _Kaiba's_ from all the times that Kaiba accompanied her to Yugi's. But no, the idiotic game designer still tried to work his charm with Kaiba sitting two fucking feet away; it was absolutely infuriating what when Kaiba tried so hard to make Kisara happy and all Otogi needed to do was say one word and Kisara would give him some attention.

He hated that he was so protective of Kisara but at this point, Kaiba didn't know how else to act. He didn't know what to do because he had never been put into this situation before and had certainly never witnessed anything like it, so he was completely lost. Kaiba and Kisara were close, but they weren't in a _relationship_, even though they kissed and went on dates. Did that make them exclusive – like, was Kisara able to go on dates with other men and was Kaiba not supposed to flip out about it? He had no idea. And he wasn't about to ask because he simply…couldn't be in a relationship.

It was selfish, wasn't it? To want to keep Kisara to himself when he couldn't give himself to her fully. But dammit, it was her fault! It was her fault for being so sweet and irresistible, so why was Kaiba the one suffering for it?

Stressed, the CEO pushed open the door to his penthouse. Mokuba, surprisingly, was home early, pulling on a vest over his dress shirt. He picked a skinny black tie from the counter and looked up. "Ah, _okairinasai, Nii-sama_," he greeted.

Kaiba assumed that his brother had a date with Rebecca so he placed himself on the couch, tossing his coat aside and turned on the news. Mokuba raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you gonna get ready?"

"For what? Do you need me to chaperone you on a date?" Kaiba asked, sounding exasperated without meaning to. He just didn't want to think about anything right now; he just wanted to sit and watch the damn news after a long day.

However, Mokuba didn't seem offended. "I thought Kisara told you. The three of us are going to dinner tonight; she said she was going to ask you at work."

"What? Why would she ask us to go to dinner?" Kaiba said, staring at the stocks rolling at the bottom of the screen. He did recall Kisara saying something like she needed to ask him something but he never did hear what it was.

"Today is her birthday."

Kaiba froze. Kisara's…birthday? Did she even mention anything about her birthday coming up soon? Kaiba had no idea that she was turning twenty-three _today_, the day before she left – the day that he screamed at her over stupid pictures in a stupid magazine. "Shit," he mumbled, burying his face in his hands. After that amazing birthday gift she had given him, Kaiba had given her nothing. What he had done was _worse _than giving her nothing. He was…the worst person on earth.

Mokuba sounded panicked now. "_Nii-sama_, what did you do? We're leaving for her birthday dinner in like, twenty minutes."

"I'm not going," he said flatly, standing up. He slammed the door to his room, leaving Mokuba alone in the penthouse.

* * *

><p>There was sharp rapping at the door and Kisara cursed to herself. Was the taxi here already? It was quite early, but Jonouchi and Honda were awake as well, ready to send her off on her family trip. They were quite supportive roommates and had done their best to make breakfast, although their eggs and pancakes were a little runny. Kisara appreciated the gesture, though, and ate it anyway.<p>

"Honda-_san_, could you get that? I'm almost done packing!" she called from her room, stuffing the last of her clothes into her suitcase. She threw herself on it, using her weight to hold down the lid to close it. She was flying separately from her family and meeting them in America to fly to Europe, so the taxi was to take her to the airport as not to inconvenience Anzu.

"Sure thing," he called back, pulling open the door as there was another knock. He paused for a moment. "Uh, Kisara. I think it's for you."

"The taxi? Can you tell them to hold on?" she asked, dragging her suitcase from her room. She glanced out the door to see Isono in a suit, shifting his jacket. "Eh? Isono-_san_, what's up?"

She pulled open the door all the way to see a forest of stark white roses lining the balcony all the way across, in front of everyone else's apartments going all the way to the staircase. Isono cleared his throat and Kisara turned her attention back to Kaiba's right hand man to see him holding a white box. "Is this for me?" she asked, smiling widely.

She took the box and opened it, revealing a broad gold necklace. It wasn't gaudy or tacky, only being about an inch in width, but it certainly matched her golden cuffs. "Is all of this from Seto?" she asked, as several more of Kaiba's guards appeared and started to move all the flowers into her tiny apartment, despite Jonouchi's adamant protests.

"As an apology for his outburst yesterday morning, Kaiba-_sama _has cancelled your taxi service and requested you are transported to the airport via his private limousine. A small breakfast is provided," Isono said, shifting his glasses slightly. "He also apologizes for not being able to see you today, but he does wish you a happy belated birthday."

Kisara sighed, but smiled warmly. "Ah, that jerk," she laughed, picking a rose from a vase that passed. "I thought he was just going to leave me angry."

"He called late last night," Isono informed her. "And bought out all the white roses in the city for your birthday gift."

Kisara giggled, unable to stop smiling. "He's something else, isn't he?" she sighed happily, heading back into the house to grab her suitcase. "Sorry about the flowers, but I have a flight to catch," she told Honda and Jonouchi, who seemed surprised that Kaiba would perform such a grand gesture to commemorate Kisara's birthday.

"Have a safe flight," Honda said with a wave, Joouchi still yelling at Kaiba's guards. Kisara laughed and closed the door behind her.

"Thanks, Isono-_san_," Kisara said, following him downstairs. He had grabbed her suitcase to assist in carrying it.

Isono cleared his throat quietly. "You…sincerely care for Kaiba-_sama_, don't you?"

Without hesitation, Kisara nodded. "Don't get me wrong, I do get upset with him sometimes, but he is a really sweet person inside, you know. I believe in him."

Isono just nodded. That was the answer that he was looking for. Not exactly the words she said, but her unhesitating belief that Kaiba Seto was human. Isono had also believed that before when Kaiba was still a teenager but as the years passed, it seemed like the CEO had lost all light. Now, however, he seemed to have found it. Isono was glad that Kaiba seemed to be trying to keep the light of his life around, even if it required sucking up his pride and apologizing.

"Then, please look after him," Isono said with a slight bow as they reached the stretch limousine.

Kisara nodded as though receiving an order for an army general. "I will."


	20. Chapter 20: Two Weeks Away

To Kaiba, the two weeks that Kisara was away seemed like a fucking eternity.

He felt utterly pathetic, seeming to need her around to not be so frustrated with life but the point was that he really was unhappy without her. He never even realized that he had been so unhappy and unsatisfied with his life until she had come and gone. And she was't even gone for a long time; it was only two weeks but Kaiba felt anxious day and night.

Upon realizing this, Kaiba knew that he needed to keep Pegasus from reaching her, ever. He had grown tired of his life, tired of the paperwork and tired of annoying employees and tired of…everything that had to deal with Kaiba Corporations. But Kisara had made work bearable and without her, well, Kaiba was back to being alone.

Fed up with complaints, Kaiba had shut down the entire building for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, something he had never done before. He normally would have made everyone work overtime, but he just…was tired. He retreated to his penthouse where Mokuba and Rebecca made hot chocolate and started a movie. Kaiba didn't have it in him to kick Rebecca out and ended up locking himself in his room. Kaiba had made Mokuba agree to never buy him gifts for Christmas, but Kaiba always gave his brother 100,000 yen and took him somewhere to spend it. After a whole day through the holiday rush with Rebecca tagging along, Kaiba was tired and just wanted to rest.

His phone interrupted of course, exploding from his pocket and he fished it out, flipping it open. "What?" he snapped into the microphone.

"Hey, long distance calls are expensive, you know," giggled a familiar voice. "Ta-da! My first phone call to you. Is this a momentus occasion or what?"

"What do you want?" Kaiba asked, not realizing that instantly, all of his nerves calmed upon hearing Kisara's voice.

"I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas, of course," she said. Kaiba checked his watch. It was exactly 12:00 A.M. in Japanese time, making it officially Christmas morning. What time was it in Europe? "Did you get any good presents?"

"I don't get presents."

"Great, 'cause I got you a couple," she said, and Kaiba could practically see her flashing that sweet smile of hers over the phone. "Swedish chocolate is delicious. We bought some the other day. I have some for you, too."

"Where are you?"

Kaiba could picture her shrugging. "Dunno. It's like three P.M. though, so no biggy. I think we're gonna go eat somewhere. I'm on a red bus."

Kaiba was slightly relieved that it was not too early and inconvenient to be calling him. "Well, do not let me hold up your vacation. Enjoy your trip."

"Okay," she said. "Thanks for the birthday gift, by the way. Oh, and I miss you."

Kaiba faltered at those last words, but didn't let it through in his voice. "I'll be expecting you back at work when you come back on the third of January."

"Alright," Kisara said with a little laugh. "See you then."

_Say something nice_. "M-merry Christmas, and have fun on your trip."

"I will. Don't be too crazy at work without me!"

How the hell did she know him so well? "Whatever."

"_Jaa_, Seto."

"_Jaa_."

And with that, she was gone. He inhaled deeply, shutting his phone and placing it onto his nightstand. Oddly enough, the phone call was calming. It let him know that she was no longer upset with him for yelling at her on her birthday and also communicated that she was still thinking of him even though they were thousands of miles apart. It was a nice feeling.

Kaiba was able to sleep soundly.

* * *

><p>Kaiba received a call on New Years as well, and they spoke for some time into the night – for her, it was still morning and her sister was already out shopping in California, as they had returned to America. Kisara had decided to stay home for the day and rest before needing to go with her family to attend the fireworks show later that evening.<p>

Finally, she and Kaiba could talk about something other than work. Perhaps it was the distance that brought them closer, in a way, as Kisara had knew things to talk about since she was on vacation and Kaiba was getting much better at keeping conversation. In the few hours that they were speaking, Kaiba Corporations had come up one time, and that was Kaiba telling her about the New Years party that he was forced to go to since he was president of his company. It had been rather dull for him – as most parties were – and he had left early to come home to talk to Kisara. It was the much better alternative.

"Well, I'll see you in a few days. I'll let you get some sleep, and I'm gonna go take a nap, too," Kisara said, letting out a yawn. Kaiba checked his watch and was completely taken aback. It was nearly four in the morning in Japan. He hadn't even realized that there had been any fireworks outside.

"Fine," he said. "See you in a few days for work."

"Are you excited?"

"The opposite."

"Don't lie," she giggled. "Alright then. Good night. Well. Good afternoon, I guess."

"Whatever. _Jaa_," Kaiba said flatly, causing Kisara to laugh.

"_Jaa,_ Seto."

"Wait," he said before he could stop himself. "Did you…need a ride back from the airport?"

"Oh, yes, that would be lovely," she said, smiling over the phone. "I should get back at around two in the afternoon Japan time."

"You better not be late."

Kisara laughed. "That's not up to me, you know! There could be delays."

"I'll be there at two. I will be calling to retrieve information on which gate you will be arriving in," he told her. "If your plane is delayed due to the weather, call _before _you leave California to let me know."

"Yes, Mom," she sighed. "Thanks."

"Whatever."

"_Jaa mata_."

"_Jaa_," Kaiba replied, and the line went dead. Kaiba took a deep breath. Two more days. It seemed like such a long time from now, so Kaiba decided that he would busy himself with work or something to keep occupied. He slept soundly that night as well.

* * *

><p>Kaiba shifted his feet. Meeting Kisara at the airport meant meeting her family, didn't it? After all, they were from Japan as well. Dammit, Kaiba didn't think about that when he had offered to pick her up. The last thing that he wanted her family thinking was that they were dating!<p>

But it was too late now, he was already here at Gate 12, waiting. He prayed that she not be obnoxiously loud and make a big scene about him coming to pick her up. Damn, he had totally forgotten about all of these little details before offering, what the hell was the matter with him?

"Thanks for coming to get me," said a voice behind him and Kaiba turned to see Kisara, wrapped up in a trench coat and a scarf with a thick beanie over her head. She shifted her suitcases. Suit_cases_? How many did she bring with her? Did she just bring a spare one for all the crap she brought back with her?

"Which is heavier?" He gestured to her bags.

Kisara seemed to weigh them in her hands for a moment. She decided on the black suitcase was much heavier than the red one. "This one."

Kaiba took the red suitcase and walked straight past her, and Kisara couldn't help but laugh. He seemed to want to help but didn't want to seem like he was helping and she thought it was actually cute, even if the suitcase she was lugging was about seventy pounds.

The taller man glanced back for a moment. "Your family is not here?"

"They decided to stay in America for a little while longer so they changed their flight," she said with a shrug.

"You could have stayed. You just needed to call and let me know."

She waved him off. "Nah, it's okay. I know I need to come home and do some work, and you've been really generous about giving me off, so it's fine."

"You said you don't see your brother often."

"Yeah, but it's okay," she assured him. "Don't worry about me."

"Are you jetlagged?"

"Dunno yet. Why?"

"Mokuba is at the penthouse with Hopkins."

"Jonouchi-_san _said he was out today with Mai, I asked him about it yesterday. Honda-_san_'s out, too."

"We'll go to your apartment then."

Kisara smiled. "Okay," she said, following him out of the airport and into the parking structure. People sent over curious glances but nothing too awkward and Kisara tried not to care about the stares from other people. Kaiba was probably used to all the attention he got in public, but this was a lot for Kisara. People could recognize her even bundled up in layers of clothing and because of her magazine spread in _Classy _with Otogi Ryuji, she was getting more publicity as well.

Kaiba clicked the button on his keys and hauled both suitcase into the trunk with ease. Kisara slid into the passenger seat as Kaiba made his way over to the driver's side, shutting the door behind him.

And then they were kissing, lips moving together, teeth bumping carelessly as the hunger of being apart for two weeks began bubbling up sharply and suddenly. Kaiba shifted his hand to brush the hair from her face and pulled her slightly closer over the leather seat to kiss her deeper and Kisara responded appropriately, reacting to the kiss with the same intensity as his own. When they broke apart, it seemed forced, like someone had ripped them away from each other and both parties found their breath stolen.

Kisara giggled as Kaiba turned away from her and started the car. "Did you miss me that much?"

"No," Kaiba scoffed, but didn't make eye contact with her as he backed out of the stall and tore out of the parking lot.

"The trip was fun but I'm glad to be home," Kisara laughed.

Kaiba was also grateful of this fact but he didn't say that. He had embarrassed himself enough for the day. Kisara pulled something out of her purse and handed it to Kaiba at the stop light. He glanced over, raising an eyebrow. "What's this?"

"Swedish chocolate," she said with a smile. "Didn't I say I got you some? I have a bunch of other stuff for you, too. I'll show you back at the apartment." Kaiba grunted in response and Kisara pulled out her own bar of chocolate, snapping off a piece for herself.

Back at the apartment, Kisara knocked on her front door, pausing for a moment. "What the hell are you doing?" Kaiba asked, furrowing his brows together. "Why are you knocking on the front door of your house? If you forgot your house keys, I'm going to throw you over the balcony."

Kisara laughed, fishing her keys from her bag. "Aw, come on now, I won't make the same mistake twice. I just know that you and Jonouchi-_san _don't get along and I just wanted to make sure he's not home. He normally calls before coming back."

"Works for me," Kaiba muttered, following Kisara into the apartment. Fortunately, it was empty, and Kaiba lugged the suitcase to her room, his briefcase in hand. Come to think of it, he had never been in her room. He imagined such a cheery person like herself to have a room decked out in all shade of pink and pastel colors, with stuffed animals everywhere. Not to mention that she was a bookworm, so she probably had a shelf full of books she loved and had her nerd-station set up on her desk.

For once, Kaiba was completely on target. The walls were white, but there were wall scrolls of anime hanging on the walls and lots of stuffed animals on the bed, including Mini-Blu, the Blue-Eyes White-Dragon doll Kaiba had won her at Kaiba Land. Her desk was small but it was covered in a complete mess, like a tornado had destroyed _only _her desk and left her pink anime fairy land untouched. Kaiba figured he only guessed right beause he knew her quite well and he wasn't particularly sure how he felt about that.

Kisara lifted the red suitcase on her bed, plopping down next to it. She patted the space next to her and Kaiba shut the door before joining her, placing himself awkwardly next to her on the bed, scooting to the wall to lean against it. Kisara started to unpack, handing him a wide array of gifts from Europe, like a snow globe from France of the Eiffel Tower, a pen with the top in the shape of Big Ben, lots and lots of Swedish chocolate (which Kaiba promptly returned; he wasn't into sweets as much as she was), as well as other sourveniers, like shirts and ties. It was extremely thoughtful of her and Kaiba honestly appreciated that she thought of him even when she was away.

"I, ah, got you something, too," Kaiba said, unclipping his briefcase.

"Hm?" Kisara turned from reaching over in her suitcase to grab more gifts. Kaiba was holding a box wrapped in festive paper. "Oh, my gosh, Seto, please stop spending your money on expensive jewelry. I love the necklace and the headband but you don't need to spoil me."

"I can assure you that I have no intention of spoiling you," Kaiba said, thrusting the package into her hands. "But I hate feeling like I owe people and you bought me a birthday gift and all of these foreign souveniers so it is the least I could do."

Kisara seemed uneasy, not opening the box. "Seto," she started. "I don't need any physical gifts. I'm back home where we can hang out and whatnot, so I mean, that's totally good enough for me." She passed the box back over to him.

"Just open it," Kaiba snapped, flipping it back over to her. "Think of it as a Christmas bonus or something. This is a one-time thing though, so don't expect me to be handing out gifts to every worker on the planet."

Kisara laughed. She was definitely home. "Okay," she said, smiling. She pulled off the paper to reveal a book, not a box with jewelry. The title read '_Death Note_'.

"Mokuba said that he doesn't think you read that yet," Kaiba said, not making eye contact. "And I know how much you love your _manga_ so I picked it up. The rest of it is in my car if you wanted to grab it sometime later, should you enjoy the first volume."

"Did you read it?" Kisara asked, flipping through it. She was surprised that he would ask Mokuba about something like that; _Death Note _was actually the _manga _that she wanted to start next but couldn't because of all the work from the company and from school. She always missed chances to go to the bookstore or check online.

"I had an unreasonable amount of time since you weren't at my heels bothering me, so I did finish the series," Kaiba said. "Kagami Raito's character was obviously modeled after myself."

Kisara laughed, already knowing the basic storyline to the series. "I'll bet. Thank you, Seto. That was really thoughtful of you."

"Whatever."

"So, did you finish _One Piece_, then?" she asked, hopeful. She sat sidewards, leaning against her headboard and draping her legs over Kaiba's lap. The CEO didn't move them, already seeming comfortable with the action.

Kaiba paused for a long time, and then sighed. "I did."

"And?" she asked, clapping her hands together. "Did you love it? Did you want to make babies with it? And then raise those children into little _One Piece _adolescents and drive those little Luffy's and Nami's to school everyday?"

"I did find it entertaining," Kaiba admitted, making a distasteful face as Kisara for her rather odd comments. "That is your favorite series?"

"Absolutely," she said, grinning ear to ear. "I'm so glad you like it. I know it was a little hard to get into because the art is kind of funky in the beginning but the story is so good that it overpowers the art and when you look at the art again in the later chapters, it's actually really beautiful."

"Whatever you say."

"Did you want to check out another series that I liked?" she asked, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She moved her suitcase and quickly hustled all of Kaiba's gifts into a little bag before making her way over to her bookshelf. Stacked on the wood was a bunch of anime figures and from what Kaiba could tell, hundreds of dollars worth of _manga _volumes; there were two layers per shelf.

She reached in, moving a few of her figures to pull out a box set with big orange letters that read _Naruto_. She placed it down on the bed. "This is a great series, too. I actually got into _Naruto _before _One Piece_, I really liked it. This is the first season; I've been buying the second season, _Shippuden_, as it's been coming out."

"It is a fighting _manga_?"

Kisara nodded. "Yup. Instead of pirates, it's ninjas."

Kaiba sighed, and Kisara giggled again. "Gonna give it a try? Or would you rather try something like…" she moved back to her book shelf, pulling out only a few volumes of books. "This one baseball series that I really liked a lot. It sounds like a boring sports _manga _but I really liked it a lot. It's called _One Outs_, and it's more about mind games than fighting or playing baseball, really. I think that if you can relate to Raito from _Death Note_, you can relate to Tokuchi from _One Outs_."

"Fine," Kaiba sighed, not able to find his way out of reading more _manga _now that he had revealed that he had legitimately been amused with _One Piece_. It was easy to understand why that _manga _had been rated so highly and is a treasure of Japan.

"You know what, you can just take both," she said, placing the _One Outs _books on top of the _Naruto _set. "I'll help you carry everything to the car later." Kisara plopped down next to Kaiba again, swinging her legs over his lap.

"How was the rest of your trip?" Kaiba said, trying his hand at starting conversation once again.

"Wonderful," Kisara replied happily. "There were lots of stuff to see and my mom, of course, wanted to go to all of the museums and exhibitions and my sister wanted to go shopping at every store in every mall and my brother was trying to contain both of them while my dad and I kind of just derped around," she said with a laugh. "My dad likes to go to casinos, though, so I went with him when the girls were shopping and it was fun."

"And how did you do at the casinos?"

She grinned sheepishly. "Um. Awesome. I made ten million dollars."

"You lost, didn't you?"

Kisara laughed, and nodded. "Yeah, I lost about a thousand U.S. dollars."

Kaiba shook his head. "Of course you did. Perhaps your father did better?"

"Nope, he's just as derpy as me, we both lost a lot of money," she laughed.

"Sounds…interesting," Kaiba said, choosing a rather neutral adjective.

"Yeah, my parents and siblings kind of flipped out when they found out that I was working at Kaiba Corporations, too," she said with a smile.

"You didn't tell them until the trip?"

"Nah, it never came up," she said, waving him off. "But I mean, they were happy either way. My dad and brother especially; they both love computers and games and whatnot. I didn't tell them that you and I were friends or anything, so don't worry about that stuff."

"Why would I care?"

Kisara shrugged. "I don't know. You can be a pretty private person."

Kaiba didn't know how to respond to that. He had thought they had gotten a little closer and honestly wouldn't care if she told her family that she and Kaiba were friends. Didn't she know him well enough to know that it didn't matter? He had been doing his best to try to show her little by little that she was important to him and she still felt so insignificant? It was frustrating; Kaiba didn't know what to do.

"You okay?" Kisara asked, poking his shoulder.

Kaiba clenched his jaw. "What do you not understand about our relationship? It is true that we are not in a romantic relationship per se, but it is not like I control you or tell you what you can and cannot say – especially not to your family. Why do you not understand that I never speak to anyone outside of work and yet I go out of my way – I _take off work _– to come and retrieve you from the airport or buy you a stupid book? What more do I need to do for you to know that you…" he trailed off sharply, already cursing himself for saying something like that off of sheer impulse. But Kisara didn't laugh or say anything snarky.

She pressed her lips together, leaning forward a little. "That I…"

Kaiba turned his glance downward, focusing on the box set of _Naruto _on the ground. "That. You…are important."

Kisara smiled sweetly, poking his cheek with a slender finger. "Well, it helps when you say stuff like that," she said softly, leaning forward to kiss his lips lightly. "And you couldn't control me if you tried, hot-shot."

Kaiba scoffed, pushing her face away. "You are in the presence of the richest, most powerful, influential man on the face of the earth. You don't think I can manipulate your actions? You are very uneducated if that is your belief."

Kisara laughed, closing the distance between them again. She placed her hand on his cheek and pressed her lips to his again. "Raaaawr," she said, pecking him on the lips.

"What are you, an animal?" Kaiba said, but didn't take his face away from hers, and in fact, kissed her again.

"Yeah. 'Cause, I'm awesome-r than you, so if you're just a man, I'm a being of much higher magical, mystical powers. Like a dragon!" she said with a giggle. "Like Blue-Eyes. Raaawwr, white lightning, raaaaaawrrrr!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes, but kissed her again nonetheless. She was too cute. She kissed back, keeping his lips in place as she lifted her hand to his hair. The bubbling passion was surfacing again and Kaiba did his best to fight it. They broke the kiss momentarily to take a breath and Kaiba felt all of that pressure evaporate as he inhaled but he was kissing her again, shifting his body so that she was lying on her bed with him hovering above her.

The passion was different this time, sweeter. The time she had built a pillow fort, it was burning, raging, like a fire out of control, but this time it was light and innocent like the strength of waves lapping the shore. Kaiba felt himself becoming unable to keep track of his presence, wavering between being grounded and getting lost in Kisara's warmth.

And then her door was shoved open. Kaiba practically threw himself off her, Kisara sitting up immediately. "Oy, oy, you never told me you was home!" Jonouchi cried, and then caught himself, glaring at the brunette sitting on Kisara's bed. "Ey. Get the fuck away from her, Kaiba, ya hear?"

"Jonouchi-_san_, you said you'd call," Kisara said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She ran a hand through her hair to smooth it out.

"Yeah, but we wanted to surprise you and I thought you said you was comin' home at four. I also never figured that asshole'd be here in my house," Jonouchi said, jabbing a thumb at Kaiba.

"Jonouchi-_san,_ please," Kisara said, lifting her hands to guide him out of her room. Kaiba stood up as well, shooting a glare at Jonouchi behind Kisara's back. "We've leaving now, okay?"

"Whatever," Jonouchi said, backing out of the room. Shortly after, there was a sharp slam of a door from down the hall and Kisara sighed. Honda passed by, waving to both Kisara and Kaiba before knocking on Jonouchi's door.

Kisara turned around, grabbing the bag of souveniers and the volumes of _One Outs_, while Kaiba picked up the _Naruto _box set. "Sorry," she said quietly. "I told him four because I thought he'd be home then but, yeah, sorry."

"There's no need to apologize," Kaiba told her as they headed downstairs to his Lexus. He popped the trunk and dropped the boxset in, and Kisara put the rest of the goodies she had brought into the trunk as well. In return, Kaiba pulled out a bag and handed it to her. "The rest of your gift."

Kisara smiled. "Thanks," she said, taking the bag. "I'll see you tomorrow for work."

"Fine," Kaiba said, and lifted her chin to kiss her lips. "Do not let that _make-inu _make you feel bad. You are allowed to spend time with whomever you please and he is simply upset that you chose me, and is being an immature child about it."

Kisara nodded, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him again. "I missed you."

Taken aback again, Kaiba wasn't sure what to say. "S-see you tomorrow," he said, sliding into his car. Kisara moved out of the way as he backed out of the parking stall, and could only stand and watch as he drove away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: An update in celebration(?) of college starting up again, ha. Hopefully I will still have time to write. Thanks for the reads and reviews. Have a lovely day.**


	21. Chapter 21: February 14

In February, it was Valentine's Day. Kaiba never cared for the holiday, as he felt it was a scam that a lot of industries used to make money. He received a lot of _giri choco – _obligation chocolate – as he was the CEO of a company which many women worked for, but he normally gave them all to his brother, who also normally received an infinite supply of chocolates. Kaiba didn't understand his brother's sweet tooth.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Kisara squealed as she burst through the doors that morning for work. She was nibbling on some chocolates that she had probably bought for co-workers, but began eating. She was holding a big pink bag which Kaiba could only assume was filled with chocolates for her co-workers downstairs.

"Valentine's Day is a scam," Kaiba responded, clicking on something on his computer. He had heard no word from Pegasus since before his birthday so Kaiba had just decided to keep that psycho at the back of his mind for now.

"Valentine's Day is lovely," she said with a smile. "I finished _Death Note _this past weekend, by the way. I do believe that Kira was modeled after you. It was so crazy! I was screaming when Kira made himself forget everything, and when L died, and when N cornered Kira, ah, it was absolutely amazing, thank you!"

"I completed _One Outs_," Kaiba responded. "You did not give me all of the volumes."

"It's on-going," she said, laughing. "I buy them as they come out. Did you want to read them after me?"

"Obviously."

Kisara giggled, nodding. "Okay. Well, when I go buy the next volume, I'll be sure to let you know. Read _Naruto _in the meantime."

"I don't care for ninjas."

The silver haired woman made a face. "But…please…I love ninjas."

Kaiba sighed, shaking his head. "Fine."

"Okay, great!" Kisara immediately perked up. She glanced at the clock. "Ope, sorry, I have to go downstairs and work and whatnot. I'll see you for lunch?"

"I have a meeting."

"Okay, then I'll see you after work, then. Have fun at your meeting."

"Whatever."

Kisara smiled and left without another word, and Kaiba couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. It didn't go without saying that he _expected_ to receive chocolates from Kisara, but he did think that she would give him _something_. While they certainly were not a couple, they did spend a lot of time together and Kaiba was a little more comfortable with intimate settings now, mostly with her sitting with her legs over his lap, but that was still better than nothing.

While Kaiba didn't believe in Valentine's Day, he couldn't help but be annoyed that he didn't even receive _giri choco _from Kisara. He forced himself to stop thinking about it. It didn't even matter anyway.

Downstairs, Kisara plopped her bag down. "Izumi-_saaaaan_," she said, lifting a box from her bag. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

Izumi smiled, running a hand through his hair. "Thanks, Kisara," he said, taking the box from her. Even though he knew that it was _giri choco, _it was very nicely wrapped and he appreciated it. Kisara handed another box to Otogi Ryuji, who flashed her a charming smile. It was quite obvious that Otogi had a little crush on Kisara, and he tried to hide his disappointment at receiving _giri choco _from her, but at the same time, he seemed to have expected it.

Rumors had been circling about Kisara and Kaiba after that tabloid photo of them together at Kaiba Land, but then a few months later, she had done a magazine spread with _Classy _with Otogi. Anyone that tried to ask Kisara about Kaiba got no answers; she was as tight as a vault, but it was quite obvious that the person she seemed to care for was indeed the CEO of Kaiba Corporations. Izumi wondered what kind of chocolates she had given him, so he decided to ask.

Kisara laughed, waving him off. "Oh, come now, do you think that Kaiba-_shachou _believes in Valentine's Day? I'm sure that he'd throw the chocolate back in my face should I offer him any," she said, shaking her head. "I'm sure he gets a lot of chocolate anyway, so it doesn't really matter if I gave him any, right?"

Izumi raised his eyebrows. "So, you did get him chocolate, then?"

"Well, he's my boss," she answered simply, once again giving a vague, ambiguous answer and Izumi knew that he would get no further information. She just proceeded into giving the rest of the males in her department little chocolate boxes.

Normally, Kisara left for lunch at twelve-thirty, no questions asked, and everyone knew she was going off with Kaiba somewhere to eat, but today, she didn't look like she was going to be going to lunch with him. Izumi cleared his throat quietly. "Kisara, are you free for lunch today?"

She looked up from her computer, glancing at the time. "Oh, wow, it's lunch time already? That's crazy."

"You going to lunch with Kaiba?" Otogi asked, raising an eyebrow. "Won't he be mad if you're late?"

"Oh, he, um, has a meeting today," she said, waving them off.

"Let's grab lunch, then," Otogi suggested with a smile. "Keiko-_san_, why don't you come along? It'll be fun."

Keiko looked up, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Sure."

Kisara smiled. It was the first time she would be eating with people in her department, as she usually spent her afternoons with Kaiba. It felt a little odd, not going along with routine, but she didn't have anywhere else to go since Kaiba did have his meeting. She headed downstairs with everyone when her phone started to ring. Kisara fished it from her pocket.

"_Moshi moshi_?" she said, flipping it open.

She looked up to see Kaiba on the phone in the lobby, and he shut his phone when he saw her. "My meeting ended early – I swear to God those men are idiots" he told her, as he was the one who had phoned her, and then glanced at her company that consisted of Izumi, Keiko, and Ryuji.

"Oh, if you guys have stuff to talk about regarding the project or anything like that, don't let us keep you," Izumi said, waving his hands.

Kisara looked up at Kaiba and opened her mouth to say something but Kaiba cut her off. "I have nothing to say. Make sure to be back on time," he told the group, sweeping past them to the elevator.

"Okay," Kisara said half-heartedly. She followed her co-workers out to Izumi's Altima, where they would drive down to the café down the road to grab sandwiches and coffee. Kisara wondered why Kaiba had seemed a little upset but figured she would ask him later.

"Is he mad?" Izumi asked as he started the car.

"Hm?" Kisara sounded as though snapping out of a trance. "Set – ah, Kaiba-_shachou_? I don't know, but I don't see why he would be."

"If you needed to talk or something, then you can go," Izumi said, not moving out of the parking stall. "I definitely don't want you to get in trouble with the president."

She waved him off. "It's totally fine, Kaiba-_shachou _and I will talk later."

Izumi hummed, not sound convinced, but he decided to back out from the parking lot anyway. He trusted her and just decided to take advantage of the rare opportunity that Kisara could come hang out with co-workers. Even though she had seemed spaced out earlier, she talked avidly about her trip when asked and actively engaged in conversation. It was a pleasant lunch that seemed to end too soon by the time everyone had to head back to the building.

Kisara stared at her computer screen. What was she doing again? She didn't even remember. Being in Kaiba Corp made her think about Kaiba and wondered what it was that he had seemed a little upset about today during lunch. He certainly didn't seem _mad_, but she knew him well enough to know that there was something bothering him.

She plugged in her headphones to the computer, feeling like listening to some music while figuring out what the hell it was she had been doing prior to lunch, when a pink rabbit appeared on her screen. He bounced around with a yellow envelope and Kisara clicked it to show a video call to Pegasus J. Crawford. On reflex, she smiled upon seeing him. "_Moshi moshi_!"

He grinned, folding his hands over his desk. "Good afternoon, Kisa-_chan_. It is afternoon in Japan, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Yes, it is. Did you need anything from me?"

"Yes, actually," Pegasus said, keeping his tone light. "I was wondering if you wanted to take a vacation to San Francisco. There's something I would like you to look at, if you have the time."

Kisara blinked several times. Back to San Francisco? She wondered why Pegasus wanted her back there. She laughed a little, waving her hand. "Oh, I actually just went to America recently to see my brother and my family and whatnot. I was in Vegas, actually, my brother works there. It was beautiful, even during the winter. I wish you had told me sooner; I could have stopped by on the way home or something."

"Oh, that's too bad," Pegasus said with a pout. "I've heard that your mum is interested in archaeology."

Kisara nodded, not sure where this was going. "Yeah, she's an archeologist," she giggled. "She'd be interested in archaeology, history, you know, that kind of stuff that archaeologists do."

Pegasus grinned brightly. "That's why she adopted you and your siblings, isn't it?"

Kisara swallowed a lump in her throat. How did Pegasus know anything about that? "I-I'm not sure what you're talking about. My parents just love kids, that's all. I'm really lucky to have them."

"Fate, Kisa-_chan_. It was fate that you meet your mum and dad, as well as fate that you were brought together with your adopted brother and sister."

"Pegasus-_san_," Kisara said, not sure how that man knew all of that about her. She didn't remember sharing anything about her siblings. But it wasn't like her to be rude. "Did you need anything in particular?"

"Are you sure you don't want to come to California?" Pegasus asked.

Kisara pressed her lips together. "The dragon is the mythical being of the east. And I believe that this is where I belong as well," she said curtly.

"Oh?"

Kisara was firm. "Fate brought me back to Japan, and I plan on staying here."

"With Kaiba-boy," Pegasus finished with a smirk. "Have you ever thought that perhaps you _fought_ fate by going back, Kisa-_chan_?"

"Not for one second," she replied.

"Your mother's an archaeologist, so you must, in turn, be well-educated about history. You don't believe that history will repeat itself?"

Kisara tightened her jaw. She didn't understand how it was that Pegasus seemed to be implying Kisara's history. She thought that only those tied to ancient Egypt had knowledge of things like that. "No," she replied finally.

Pegasus smiled brightly. "That's very cute of you, Kisa-_chan_. I wish you the very best of luck. Please call me if you ever change your mind and wish to come to California – I'll fly you here for free within a moment's notice, okay? Make sure Kaiba-boy isn't too harsh on you."

"He's been absolutely wonderful," Kisara said, lightening her tone. She offered the older man a smile, despite herself, as it was in her personality not to be rude to people of higher status. "I'm sorry I won't be able to come to California."

"It's perfectly fine," Pegasus said, waving her off with another smile. "Do tell Kaiba-boy I said hello. Have a lovely day, Kisa-_chan_."

"You, too," she said, and with that, he disappeared. She pulled off her headphones to see Otogi staring at her with concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked, moving his chair closer to her. "What was that about?"

Kisara knew that she looked disturbed. No one had mentioned knowing anything about her previous life before. Not even Yugi and she had seen him before in her dreams. The dreams started right before she was adopted; right after Kaiba and Mokuba left the orphanage. By the time she had been adopted by her mother, Kisara knew everything about the life she had lived in the sands of Egypt. She had always wondered if Kaiba remembered, too, and then made it her goal to find him again.

But he had propelled himself to such wealth and fame that Kisara knew she could never reach him idling around, and that's why she went into programming – to be useful to him somehow that he couldn't ignore her. She felt drawn to him and she understood why; because it wasn't just in this life that they were fated to meet – they had done so in their other life as well.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she told Otogi, realizing that she hadn't responded. "I'll be right back." How did Pegasus know about anything and what did he want with her? Kisara shook the thoughts from her head. Perhaps it was just a coincidence. Yes, it had to be. Kisara realized how dumb that dragon comment must have sounded. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to convince herself that it was just a coincidence.

"What do you want?" Kaiba asked, looking up from his desk. Kisara snapped back to reality, realizing that she had climbed the stairs and opened the doors to Kaiba's office. When Kisara didn't respond immediately, Kaiba sat up straight, looking concerned. "Kisara," he said, catching her eyes. "What happened?"

Kisara felt heavy all of a sudden. What if Pegasus was going to use her to threaten Kaiba? She knew that they had bad blood in the past and what if he was going to use her to get Kaiba to shut down his company? Of course, she didn't think that he would really throw away his life's work for her, but it still made her uneasy. Or, what if that wasn't his plan exactly, but Pegasus was still planning to use her to hurt Kaiba somehow? What if Kaiba ended up hating her? Kisara wouldn't have it! She had worked so hard and done so much to get to this point to finally stand beside Kaiba that she wouldn't be able to endure it if he was taken from her.

"Nothing," she said with a bright smile. "I just, ah, wanted to see you."

Kaiba stared at her for a while, observing her, until he finally just sighed. She was glad that she was able to mask her worry. "Did you need anything?" Kaiba asked, turning back to his computer.

She plopped down on his work desk with a smile. "Didn't I say I just wanted to see you?"

"You mean bother me," Kaiba corrected, not seeming to care that she was sitting on his desk. She laid back flat on the desk over Kaiba's typing arm as he worked and grinned. He shifted his arm to place it over her face and typed like that, causing her to giggle. She pushed him off and laced her fingers with his.

"I'm not bothering you," she said as he stopped typing to look down at her, Kisara holding his right hand hostage.

"You're feel exceptionally attention-hungry this afternoon," Kaiba said, raising an eyebrow.

"Wanna go out to dinner tonight?" she asked sweetly, chomping her teeth at him.

"I apologize, I'm not interested in Valentine's Day. Did I not tell you this morning that it was a scam?" Kaiba said, furrowing his brows. He was still a little annoyed that he had yet to receive chocolate even though she had come out of her way to come see him in the afternoon when they didn't have lunch together.

"Not for Valentine's Day," she said with a giggle. "Just to hang out. We don't need to go out 'cause there might be too many reservations, so we can just go to my apartment tonight. Jonouchi-_san _will be out with Mai."

"Did you want to go to a restaurant?" Kaiba asked, shaking his hand free to type again.

"Guarantee all the restaurants are full."

Kaiba looked at her skeptically. "Do you even know who I am?"

She laughed, waving him off. "Well, duh. You don't need to use your CEO powers to get us reservations, silly. I don't mind hanging out at the house."

Kaiba sighed. "Fine, fine. Now go back to work. You're lucky I didn't kill you by now for bothering me and wasting time," he said, and she sat up, laughing.

"I need to fuel up!" she said, leaning down with a smile. Kaiba reached up, pulling her face downward to kiss her lips. Kisara kissed back sweetly and Kaiba felt his entire body just…melt a little. She pulled back, giving him a little peck. "Now I'm ready to finish the day."

He grunted in response as she hopped off his desk and started for the door. She paused for a moment, her hand on the door. "Seto," she said quietly.

He looked up. "What?"

"You know how I promised that I'd stay in Japan with you? You wouldn't…let me go, right?"

His immediate response made Kisara's chest swell. "Never."

She turned back and flashed him one last smile. "Just making sure," she said. "See you tonight."

"Whatever," he replied, and she closed the door quietly behind her. Kaiba sighed, trying to get back in the mood for working. Kisara had completely interrupted him and now she was all he was thinking about. He glanced at the clock – it was almost two thirty in the afternoon. What was another couple of hours? Kaiba was done with his share for the day. He stood up, flicked off his computer and swept out of the room.

Kisara seemed to have just settled in her seat when Kaiba came into her department. "Are you doing anything important?"

She narrowed her eyes, seeming to think. "Is this a trick?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes with a sigh. "No."

"Then I don't know," she said with a shrug. "I forgot what I was doing."

"What the hell have you been doing, then?"

Kisara grinned. "I dunno."

The whole department seemed to freeze in time and space. Sure, Kaiba had said that wasn't a trick, but it was _definitely _a trick. And Kisara was giving him wrong answers! Kaiba sighed. "What do I even pay you for? What do I pay any of you for?"

"'Cause we're awesome and super geniuses," Kisara replied with a smile.

"Where are you on the schedule?"

Kisara glanced at the calendar near her desk. "Ahead of schedule, actually," she said, pointing to one of the days. "We've been making good time, so don't worry about it. Why?"

"Everyone get out," Kaiba said, directing this at the department. Everyone was shocked, not only by his words, but by his tone. He wasn't malicious or snappy at all, he was simply stating. "I don't plan on paying you to sit around and do nothing. Go home."

Kisara spoke up on behalf of her rather intimidated department. "It's okay, you know. If we're ahead, then we can just get more ahead and maybe we'll push out the project faster."

"We've already discussed release dates. We're not going to pull it back more than a week and it doesn't make sense for you lot to be idling around on company time," Kaiba told her. No one moved, seeming cautious of Kaiba. Perhaps this was a trick. He exhaled sharply. "Also, if there is anyone left in this room in five minutes, I'm going to fire every single one of your sorry asses."

The room erupted into a silent scramble as no one doubted Kaiba's words. Kisara smiled up at him as she stood up, picking her bag from under her desk, her co-workers scurrying out of the room. She poked Kaiba's belly, and the man seemed alarmed, swatting her hand away lightly. "Thanks," she said, truly appreciating it.

She watched as her department left, packing into the elevator. Kaiba glanced at Izumi and managed to get a glimpse of a pink box that he was tucking away. He knew what _giri choco _looked like and made sure to tuck that piece of information away. If he received some shitty obligation chocolates from Kisara, then – there was no hiding it – he would be pretty damn pissed off.

When the last person had left four minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, Kisara smiled up at Kaiba again. "Ready to go home?"

Kaiba started out, pushing the door open. Kisara smiled to herself as she knew he probably didn't realize that he had opened the door for her, but slipped out without saying anything. "That _make-inu _Jonouchi better not be there or barge in uninvited."

She giggled. "Well, it's his house, too, you know."

"How you live in a fucking pet store is completely beyond my comprehension."

"He's not that bad," Kisara said with a shrug. "Jonouchi-_san _is actually really nice, you know. We should have a double date or something with him and Mai."

"Never in a million years will I break bread with that disgusting hound," Kaiba responded without hesitation. Kisara still looked hopeful, so Kaiba kept speaking. "Don't even try to persuade me with this one because the answer will always be a very bold 'fuck no'. I can have a large stamp made if my verbal answer does not suffice."

She laughed, swatting his shoulder. "Okay, okay, it was just a thought."

"One of your worst besides naming my project the Mini-K."

"Okay, that was an awesome idea. It's your project _and _my project. Mini-Kaiba, Mini-Kisara. It works both ways."

"It most certainly does not."

They reached the bottom floor and Kisara picked up her helmet from the front desk, waving goodbye to Isono, who seemed confused as to why Kaiba was taking the half-day and why a swarm of programmers had just fled from the building. It was best probably not to ask.

Kaiba turned back to Isono for a moment as Kisara caught up with him. "Take the day off," he told Isono.

"S-sir?" Isono wasn't sure what he was hearing.

"Think of it as retribution for delivering her gift in my absence," Kaiba said, nodding to the silver haired woman at his side. Isono glanced at her and noticed the golden necklace and she grinned, flashing him a thumbs up behind Kaiba's back. "Go and spend time with your family or something."

Family? _Kaiba Seto _told Isono to spend time with _family_? This had to be a trick! "B-but, sir, I can't exactly leave the rest of the staff—"

Kaiba sighed exasperatedly. "Then everyone go home, shit," Kaiba said, rubbing his temples. "I am getting a fucking headache just thinking about you fools standing around doing absolutely nothing so just go _home_."

The rest of the lobby staff paused for a moment, not sure what to do until Kisara looped her arm through Kaiba's. They expected some kind of nuclear explosion but he didn't seem to care, starting to sweep out of the building, dragging her along. She smiled at the baffled workers. "He's being serious, you know! Have a lovely Valentine's Day."

Kisara released Kaiba upon realizing that she had initiated physical contact in front of his staff. "Sorry," she said, seeming alarmed and afraid that Kaiba would be angry. He wasn't sure why she cared so much about that sort of thing. "Meet you at my hoooouuuuse!" She jammed on her helmet and skipped to her motorcycle, leaving Kaiba to roll his eyes.

The two of them drove separately, but Kaiba followed behind her. She would turn around at stop lights, and do a little wiggly dance before speeding off towards her apartment. He met her at the stairs, making a face at her. "Are you sure you are licensed to drive a vehicle?" Kaiba asked, and the woman laughed.

"I'm the best bike driver ever," she said with a grin as she and Kaiba headed up the stairs together. She unlocked the door to see Jonouchi, Mai and Honda sitting on the couch watching television. They looked up upon seeing her and Kaiba glared at the younger blonde.

"Kisara?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow. She turned to Jonouchi. "Why does she have the key to your apartment?"

Kisara froze. "Jonouchi-_san_!" she said, making a face at him. "I told you to tell Mai!"

Jonouchi held up his hands as both women glared at him. "You living here never came up, okay?"

"You live here?" Mai asked Kisara, in disbelief. "Is this why you never want me to come over?"

"Jonouchi-_san_!" Kisara scolded, furrowing her brows at him as he flailed mentally. Honda also seemed stunned, trying to camouflage into the sofa and disappear. She turned back to Mai and tried to speak calmly to the hot-tempered blonde. "Yes, I live here. I've been living here for a few months."

"_Months_?" Mai demanded, turning to Jonouchi. "You've had another woman living with you for _months_, Katsuya?" She whirled around to Kisara. "You have a room here?"

"Yeah," she said, pointing down the hall.

Mai turned on Jonouchi again, glaring at him. "Why did this never come up? Do you close her door before I come over? Why did you not want me to know that you were living with another woman?"

"If you would calm down for _one second_, Kujaku, I can assure you that Kisara has no romantic ties with that dog of yours whatsoever," Kaiba snapped, stepping into the house. Mai furrowed her brows at the CEO's use of Kisara's first name and his automatic defense for the silver haired woman.

Jonouchi pointed an accusing finger at Kaiba. "Oy, oy, I ain't never said that you can come in my house," he snapped at Kaiba.

Kaiba shot him an icy glare. "If I recall correctly, you are the one in deep shit and I am the one helping you out. So, shut the fuck up before I put you down, _make-inu_."

Kisara stood in front of Kaiba, placing her hands on his chest to gently push him back as Jonouchi stood up from the couch roaring profanities. Kaiba was completely unaffected by Jonouchi's wild behavior. "Perhaps you should hold him back instead of me," Kaiba told Kisara. He stepped aside, leaned down and kissed her forehead. He didn't seem angry at all. "Figure this out. I'll be in your room."

Mai was unsure what had just happened, followed Kaiba with her eyes as he swept past everyone down the hall to the closed door. He pushed it open, and closed it quietly behind him. Mai looked at Kisara in disbelief, pointing a finger at the room. "You and Kaiba are—"

She held up her hands, waving them. "Oh, no, it's nothing like that, he was just trying to neutralize the room, fix the situation, illustrate his point, you know, Kaiba-stuff," she said. She had no idea why he had just kissed her in front of Jonouchi, Honda, and Mai. She bowed to Mai. "I'm really sorry that Jonouchi-_san _didn't tell you. I asked him to ask you if I could move in but if you're really uncomfortable about it then I can find somewhere else to live."

Mai sighed, running a hand through her blonde hair. "I guess it's fine," she said with a shrug, causing Kisara to look up. "You shouldn't be out of a place because Katsuya was being irresponsible." She tossed Kisara a smirk. "And you're with Kaiba anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter to me." Kisara tried to deny this, but Mai just laughed, sitting back on the couch. "We'll leave in a bit; I have to pick up Shizuka later and we're all going out later. You should head to your room. He's waiting for you, right?"

"Thanks," Kisara said, bowing again to Mai, who merely smiled at her politeness. Kisara scurried to her room to see Kaiba flipping through one of her _manga_ books. He looked up upon seeing her.

"Everything is alright now?" he asked, glancing down at the book as though to memorize the page he was on before closing it to pay attention to her.

She nodded, sighing as she plopped down onto the bed face-first. "Yeah," she said into the mattress. "I can't believe Jonouchi-_san_ almost got me killed."

Kaiba scoffed, shaking his head. "You can't rely on that _make-inu _for anything. You should have told Kujaku yourself."

"I thought he was going to tell her, though."

"Did she kick you out?"

"Well, it's not her house. She can't tell me what to do."

"Understand if she did, and you failed to comply with her demands, I thoroughly believe she could kick the crap out of you."

Kisara scoffed, rolling over and putting her fists up. "Please, bitch," she challenged, and then rolled over again, groaning as though knowing that Kaiba was right. "I know, she would totally slap my face with her boobs."

Kaiba made a face. "That is certainly not what I meant at all," he told her, and she laughed, propping herself up. "So, did she kick you out or not?"

"Are you offering your place up if she did?" Kisara teased, wriggling her eyebrows.

Kisara saw the CEO come the closest to laughing. "You _must_ be delusional."

She giggled. "Nah, she didn't kick me out. It's my house, too, you know, and Mai's not a bitch. I'm still living here. I also have something super awesome for you," Kisara said, grinning as she sat up and went to her desk. She picked up a silver box and presented it to Kaiba. "I kept it at home because I didn't want it to be crushed with all the other stuff I brought."

Kaiba took the box and opened it, revealing a series of little crumply chocoates. "Did you make these?"

"Well, duh," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "The best _honmei choco _ever, bitch. They're oreo truffles with cream cheese. Effing delicious."

Kaiba held out his hand to Kisara and she stepped forward, standing between his knees. He reached up and hooked her hair behind her ear, lowering her face to give her a nice, sweet kiss. "And here I thought I was the only man not receiving chocolates."

Kisara laughed, pushing him playfully. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You did give Otogi and Izumi chocolates, didn't you? And the rest of the male staff in your department."

"Well, those were just chocolates I bought from the store and put them in nicer boxes. _Giri choco _for my co-workers. I gave those to Jonouchi-_san _and Yugi-_san_, too. I have to remind myself that Valentine's Day is different in Japan than in America."

"America doesn't celebrate White Day."

She nodded. "Yup, so no chocolates for me a month from now," she said, pretending to be depressed as she mimed slitting her wrists. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Another scam," he said, and she just laughed. They talked about several things, and read manga together, before glancing at the clock. Kaiba and Kisara emerged from the room close to six, Jonouchi, Mai, and Honda killing time before their date tonight. Kaiba didn't pay heed to any of them, instead sat himself down at the counter while Kisara went into the kitchen.

"Water? Beer?" she asked, opening the fridge.

"Beer is fine," Kaiba said, and Kisara slid the bottle over the counter with what seemed like all her might, and the beverage flew right past Kaiba. He caught it as it nearly whizzed off the counter and merely rolled his eyes at the younger woman as she grinned sheepishly. The other three people in the room where surprised at Kaiba's calm reaction to Kisara's quirkiness.

"What are we eating?" Kaiba asked, popping open the bottle of beer. "Are you cooking?"

Kisara grinned, pointing to a slow cooker on the counter. "I _been_ cookin', fool!"

Kaiba furrowed his brows. She'd already prepared a meal? "What if I chose not to come here today?"

"Then I guess all of the stew I've been cooking for twenty hours is gonna end up in my belly, and then come out of my body not as poo, but as tears."

Kaiba sighed, rubbing his temples. "You fucking give me headaches," he mumbled, and Kisara just laughed, dancing around the kitchen as she made herself something to drink.

Honda decided to speak. "You two are staying here?"

Kaiba turned for a bit, and Kisara nodded her head. "Yeah," she said, nibbling on a saltine cracker.

"Don't eat now, you won't have appetite for that stew," Kaiba told her.

"But I'm hungry now."

"We can eat the stew then."

"But I don't _want_ to eat the stew yet," she complained, making a face at him, and Kaiba just shook his head.

Mai raised an eyebrow. "You're spending Valentine's Day _together_?" she asked Kaiba, looking amused. Kaiba didn't answer and so Mai redirected her attention somewhere else. "What time do you normally finish work, Kisara?"

"Five," she answered, chomping obnoxiously loudly on her saltine crackers, crumbs flying from her mouth. Kaiba rolled his eyes; Mai was obviously trying to pry out information from them and Kisara was just handing them out like candy. Kaiba didn't particularly care, however, as perhaps those people would share this information with Otogi Ryuji so that womanizer would leave Kisara the fuck alone.

Mai and Honda exchanged glances and Jonouchi focused as hard as he could on the television. "That's interesting," Mai said, but Kaiba ignored her and Kisara shrugged.

Kisara furrowed her brows at Kaiba and then pressed her lips together. "Where's the chocolate?"

"In your room," Kaiba said as though this were supposed to be the obvious answer.

"Eat it."

"No."

Kisara tried to make the ugliest face humanly possible. "_Eat_ it."

"Are you deaf? I said no. I don't like sweets."

"I don't give a crap. Eat it."

"Fuck you."

"Eff _you_," she said, squinting her eyes and Kaiba just shook his head again. Kisara jumped up and down, spinning in a circle. "Eat the chocolate! I worked so hard on it! It's not that sweet! The outside is dark chocolate so it tastes like ass!"

Kaiba just stared. "You want me to eat chocolate that tastes like ass," he repeated, just to be sure that that was, indeed, what Kisara was requesting of him.

"Well, does dark chocolate taste like ass?" she asked, like the answer was well known by every other human in the galaxy. "Yes, it does. But you don't like sweets, so maybe you like ass. I personally like white chocolates." When Kaiba didn't eat the chocolates, Kisara went to the knife drawer, pulling out a butcher's knife, which completely alarmed Kaiba. He hated the thought of that derpy woman with a knife. "If you don't eat it, I'm going to kill eeeeeeeeeeveryone! Starting with meeeeeeeeee!"

Kaiba groaned and stood up, picking up the chocolates from her room and coming back to the counter. Thankfully, Kisara had put the knife away and was smiling sweetly at him as he opened the box. "The chocolate looks like ass," Kaiba said sarcastically at the little crumply balls of chocolate, and Kisara clutched her chest, pretending to be physically suffering from that comment.

"But I put all of my heart and soul into it. _Honmei choco_! _HONMEEEEIIIIIII_!"

"Fuck, shut up, I get it," Kaiba sighed, plucking a piece from the box and popping it into his mouth, Kisara watching him like a hawk. It was actually quite good, although Kaiba wouldn't say this, and just swallowed the treat. "Happy?"

"Very," she said with a grin.

All this time, Mai, Jonouchi, and Honda were listening and watching, trying to figure out what alternate dimension they had stumbled upon. Kaiba was actually being pleasant. While it wasn't particularly new to Honda, as he had seen them before in the restaurant and they did sit close together at Yugi's on Sundays, it was still a little odd. Not to mention the fact that Kisara had made special chocolates for Kaiba.

But they couldn't linger for very long. Mai glanced at the clock and stood up. "Okay, then, boys, let's go pick up Shizu-_chan_ and head to dinner, hm? Leave these two kids alone."

Jonouchi stood up immediately, stepping into his shoes. "See ya, Kisa-_chan_."

"Bye, guys, have fun," Kisara said, waving to her friends as they left the house, Honda waving to both of them as he stepped out last, closing the door behind him.

Kisara grinned. "Okay, we can kiss now," she said, leaning over the counter and placing her face two inches away from Kaiba's. He rolled his eyes, but dipped forward the tiny bit and pecked her gently on the lips. She smiled widely and pulled back, checking on the rice she was cooking. "Glad you liked the chocolate."

"Was I the only one to receive _honmei choco_?" Kaiba asked, his expression completely void of any kind of emotion.

Kisara raised her eyebrows. "What kind of dumb question is that?" she laughed, shaking her head. "Of course you were."

"Otogi didn't get your ass-tasting truffles?"

"What's up with you and Ryuji-_san_? Do you _like_ him? Are you jealous because he and I are friends and you totally want that Dungeon Dice ass?"

"Your jokes are not funny," Kaiba informed her, but Kisara seemed to think otherwise, laughing to herself. He did not, however, admit that he was, in fact, jealous, even if it wasn't for whatever insane reason she had stated. "You did not answer the question."

"Yes I did. I said that you were the only one that I gave _honmei choco _to. Ryuji-_san_ got box chocolate. Happy?"

Kaiba just decided to tell a little white lie. "Not in the slightest."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: First day of classes went good so here is the next chapter. I can't tell if I'm going to be busy for school yet but I haven't written much in a while, so thank you for bearing with me. Thanks for all the reads and reviews! Have a lovely semester.**


	22. Chapter 22: Family

"Why are you fidgety?" Kaiba asked upon the drive back from Tsuki's. It was late February, but there was heavy storm and Kisara had seemed anxious all day. "Are you afraid of the storm?"

She shook her head and smiled. "Nope."

"Don't you lie to me."

Kisara laughed, waving her hand. "No, it's nothing like that, don't worry."

"Well, what is it, then?"

Kisara hesitated for a moment. "I'm going to my family's house for dinner tonight."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod. "But by the time I get there, dinner will be over. It's three hours by transferring subways and driving my bike, but I can't really take my bike in the rain, so I'd have to take the bus, and it's just crappy. I wish they would have made it tomorrow, since it's Saturday, but my momis so busy that it could only be tonight. I've never been to the house since I came back to Japan; when we moved back after Australia, I stayed for a little but had to go to America. It's okay, though, I can catch dessert or something."

"Let me drive you," Kaiba said, flicking his head back as he changed lanes to get on the freeway. "You have your belongings?"

"Seto, please don't," she pleaded.

"Spending time with your family is important to you, so it's fine. I'll drop you off."

"By car it's a two hour drive."

"I don't care."

"Seto, it's really okay. I can just ask my mom to make it a different day next time."

"Well, they planned it for today this time, didn't they? I already said that I don't care."

Kisara looked distressed, running a hand through her silver locks. "Stop doing me favors. I can't repay you for all the wonderful things you've done for me already."

"It goes without saying that you have shown your affections for me," Kaiba said, keeping his eyes on the road. "Just let me do the same."

The silver haired woman was a little surprised by his comment, but offered him a sweet smile. "Then, thank you, Seto. It really means a lot."

He grunted in response, and Kisara told him the way to get to her family's house. The drive was longer than two hours because of the storm, but eventually, Kaiba pulled up to Kisara's old house. The storm had gotten progressively worse and even with the windshield wipers on the highest setting, it was difficult to see three feet in front of the car. "Do you want to come in?" she asked, pulling on her coat to make a dash to the front porch. "You probably shouldn't drive back yet. Maybe the storm will wear down and you can head back later."

Kaiba hesitated, feeling his stomach drop. Was he – nervous? Was he _anxious_ about meeting Kisara's family? She spoke of them in such high regard and Kaiba had never met anyone's family, ever. Yugi's grandfather Solomon didn't count because Kaiba had practically slapped his face by ripping that Blue-Eyes White-Dragon card five years ago, back when he was into Duel Monsters. Shit, how long had it been since he had said something? Kisara was staring at him with a bit of hope and confusion. What was he supposed to say?

"Okay," he managed to choke out. He fought his body, trying to stop himself from turning off the car, but the next thing he knew, he was standing with Kisara on the front porch as she knocked.

"Mana, get the door!" called a female voice.

"_You _get the door!" groaned another female voice and there was the pounding of footsteps before the door was pulled open, revealing a slightly tanned girl with dark hair. She looked about seventeen or so; still a high school student. "Oy, Kisara!" she said happily, pulling her sister into a hug. She pulled back and stared at Kaiba for a little before turning around and screaming to her mother, "_Kaa-san_, stranger danger!"

Kaiba realized that Kisara's weirdness _had _to have been passed on to her younger sister. Kisara burst out laughing, pulling Kaiba into the house. Mana didn't seem to understand, and Kisara's mother appeared from out of the kitchen, wearing an apron. She stopped short, her eyes falling on Kaiba. "Kisara," she said, wiping her hands on her apron, but keeping her eyes on Kaiba. "You didn't say you were bringing a guest."

"Oh, yeah, _Kaa-san_, this is Kaiba-_shachou_, but I mean, you probably know him already," she said, pushing Kaiba forward a bit. "He's my boss at work and was nice enough to drive me here so I could make it to dinner on time."

"Nice to meet you," Kaiba said, sounding robotic as he held his hand out for Kisara's mother to shake. She smiled warmly, taking his hand.

"Nice to finally meet you as well, Kaiba-_san,_" she said. "Are you staying for dinner?"

Kaiba glanced back at Kisara, who shrugged. She knew that he had said he wasn't a fan of meeting families and she didn't want him to feel obligated to do so, even if she really wanted him to stay. "If you want to."

Kaiba certainly _did not_ want to have dinner with Kisara's family. "Yes, I will be staying."

"Wonderful," she said, clapping her hands together. "You can make yourself at home, Kaiba-_san, _and please, call me Kumiko."

"I'd rather not," Kaiba said politely. "But thank you for having me."

Kisara was surprised at how polite Kaiba was being. It was so unlike him to try to be nice to others and half expected him to snap something at her mother. He never used honorifics and never really said thanks to anyone but Kisara, but in the first two mintues of meeting her mother, he had transformed into some sort of gentleman.

From upstairs, a man came down, his dark hair slightly graying. He pushed up his glasses and grinned at Kisara. "Hey, ugly."

Kisara rolled her eyes. "_Tou-san_," she said hugging her father as he reached the bottom of the steps.

"Boyfriend?" he asked bluntly, looking directly at Kaiba.

"Boss," Kaiba responded, unfazed.

"_Tou-san!"_ Kisara scolded, swatting her father's arm. "This is Kaiba-_shachou_. Do you guys even watch television?"

"_Kaa-san_ doesn't let me watch porn anymore."

"_Tou-san_!" Kisara cried, covering her ears. Kaiba realized that Kisara got her weirdness from her parents, particularly her father. It was mildly amusing; Kaiba didn't know what it felt like to have a family, let alone be _embarrassed _by one.

Kisara's father laughed, slapping his daughter on the back. "I'm just kidding, Kisara. I know who he is," he said, turning to Kaiba. He held out his hand and smiled up at the CEO. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kisara's adopted father, Takeshi."

Kaiba shook it firmly. "Kaiba Seto."

"Thanks for hiring my derpy daughter," he said, still grinning.

"I'm not derpy! _You're _derpy!" Kisara said, shoving her father playfully.

"Go help your mom in the kitchen," Takeshi said, waving Kisara off.

Kisara made a face. "You help _Kaa-san_!" she cried, but her father just strolled over to the couch, spread out on all the cushions and turned on the television. "_Touuuuu-san! _Come on, I have a guest," she complained, sighing. She ran a hand through her hair when her father didn't move and seemed to be concentrating all of his energy into watching TV. "Do you want to play chess with Mana? I'm sorry, I have to go help my mom."

Mana looked up from the love seat, sounding interested. "I'm down," she said with a grin. "I'm the national high school champ, you know. Ryusei Mana."

Kaiba did not look impressed, his face expressionless. "If we are bragging now, I will have you know that I happen to be the CEO of Kaiba Corporations," he replied sarcastically, as Mana pulled out the chess set.

"If I beat you, will you give a job at Kaiba Corp when I graduate?" Mana asked with a grin. "And I will beat you. You _will _feel my wrath."

Kisara laughed and Kaiba rolled his eyes. "You and your sister are one in the same."

"I win and I get a job in three years," she said with a grin. "Deal?"

"I apologize; I do not make deals with children," he said.

Mana just laughed, setting up all the pieces as Kisara retreated into the kitchen to help her mother. Kumiko smiled at her daughter. "He seems nice," she said, chopping vegetables.

Kisara washed her hands, slinging on an apron. "He is."

"Kisara, can I ask you something?"

The silver haired woman looked up at her dainty mother. It was nice seeing that he had settled down a bit and cut back on traveling around the world for work to spend time at home with Mana and her husband since Kisara and her brother were away. Kisara was sure that Mana appreciated that. It did get lonely being the only kid left at home. "Sure, what is it?"

Kumiko seemed a little hesitant, slowing on her cutting to lock eyes with Kisara. "Do you believe in fate?"

Kisara was a little surprised by the question, but flashed her mother a smile. "That's why he's here, isn't it?"

Kumiko sighed a little, shifting her eyes back to the vegetables. "Please be careful, Kisara."

"I am. He takes good care of me, _Kaa-san_."

Her mother smiled. "Well, so long as he is kind, I guess I have nothing to worry about then, hm?"

Kisara nodded. "Yep."

When Kisara and Kumiko emerged from the kitchen later, they were both surprised to see Kaiba and Mana still playing chess. Kaiba's expression was completely calm but Mana had taken him down to two pieces, and she was basically celebrating in her seat, pumping her fists. While she knew that Mana was good, Kisara was shocked to see that her sister was currently winning the game.

"You better have that job opening, Kaiba," Mana said with a grin.

"You sneaky little shit," Kaiba muttered to himself as he placed a piece forward, annoyed by Mana's playing strategy. Mana moved her piece immediately, without so much of a thought.

"Check," she said with a smile.

Kaiba pushed his bishop forward. "It is unfortunate that you still think like a child. Checkmate."

Mana stood silent for a moment as Kisara and Kumiko set the food on the coffee table. She seemed completely frozen in her seat before slipping her hands under the board and flipping it, the piece flying off the board and clattering onto the wooden floors. "_Fuck_ you."

Kisara burst out laughing as Kaiba remained emotionless. He found it amusing that the younger Ryusei did not find him intimidating at all, even cursing at him. Kisara crossed her arms at her sister. "Mana, come on now, don't be a poor sport."

She made a face at Kaiba, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away, not even bothering to pick up the chess pieces. "Well. Whatever. Good game."

Kaiba leaned down to pick up the pieces before sitting next to Kisara. "Mana," he said after some time, and the younger girl looked up at the use of her first name. "Come talk to me in three years. I am sure I will have a place for you at my company."

Mana seemed speechless and even her parents seemed surprised. Kisara smiled at Kaiba, looping her arm through his. Mana's eyes lit up. "Really? I could work at Kaiba Corp?"

"Yes, your job tasks would consist of retrieving coffee for your sister and I, and sweeping the floors," he responded sarcastically, and Kisara and her parents laughed, while Mana just huffed, mumbling to herself.

"Three years, Mana," Kisara said again, knowing that Kaiba was trying to make a joke. "Right?"

Kaiba just grunted in response, but Kisara knew that was his way of saying yes and decided to leave it at that. She knew that there was no way that her sister could be a programmer or anything like that right out of high school without even graduating from college, but Kisara had hopes. Interning was always a start and she figured that's what Kaiba had in mind anyway.

"So, ah, how's work, Kaiba?" Takeshi asked as they started on the curry. Kisara sighed quietly at her father's attempt to try and start small talk with the CEO. Kaiba wouldn't respond; he didn't bother explaining much to anyone besides Kisara, but that was because she sort of understood business, but that was only after Kaiba's constant talking about it.

However, much to her surprise, the two men engaged in a very insightful conversation. They talked about Kaiba Corporation, as well as stocks and the Japanese economy. Kaiba, of course, was extremely eloquent, and Kisara was actually shocked that her father was able to keep up with all the business talk, especially since he was a programmer and web designer by trade. The women of the table - Kisara included - didn't even bother trying to keep up with the men's conversation. Kisara was extremely happy that her father and Kaiba even shared several shots of sake as Takeshi's simple line of small talk evolved into a full-blown conversation.

Mana even tried to talk and Kisara expected her sister to go ignored by the CEO, but he actually tried to have a conversation with her, even asking how high school was going, what college she was planning on going to, and what she planned on majoring in. Mana seemed surprised, but answered and talked to him about Duel Monsters, as she did used to play a little. He was genuinely polite and seemed interested in what Mana had to say.

Takeshi glanced at the time and nearly jumped from his seat, his face red from the alcohol. Kisara sighed at her light-weight father. "Ain't it late? Sorry for keepin' you here, Kaiba," he slurred, rubbing his eyes under his glasses.

Kisara had been sitting with Kaiba for most of the night, adding in her two cents here and there, and talking with her sister and mother, and they had actually been sitting quite close. Kisara knew that Kaiba had to be a little hazy, as he had put his arm around her waist and absently rubbed her knuckles throughout the night, not seeming to care that he was in the presence of her family. He checked his watch. Kaiba had shed his coat and loosened his tie over the course of the night, and gathered himself appropriately. "It's fine. I can still make the drive back to Domino."

"Domino _City_?" Kumiko asked, sounding appalled. "Absolutely not, especially not when Takeshi has given you so much to drink. You can spend the night here, Kaiba-_san_. Tomorrow's Saturday, so the two of you don't work, right?"

"I'm fine," Kaiba assured her, but Kumiko was already heading upstairs to fetch an extra futon and set of blankets. "Your hospitality is commendable but unnecessary. Domino City is a mere two hours away."

"The living room gets stuffy so I'll set everything up in Kisara's old room," Kumiko called from upstairs, ignoring Kaiba. "Takeshi can lend you some pajamas."

Kaiba turned to Kisara. "Please tell your mother that this is not needed. I do not wish to take advantage of your family's hospitality."

Kisara laughed. "It's nothing like that, Seto. It'd make me feel a lot better if you stayed over, too. I don't want you driving back for two hours tipsy and tired."

"I am not drunk or tired," Kaiba assured her, but Kisara laughed. "Kisara."

"_Kaa-san_ insisted. She's the boss of the house, you know," Kisara said, leading him to the stairs. "Come on, you can change into my dad's pajamas and borrow a toothbrush or something, it's no big deal. We'll go back to Domino first thing tomorrow."

Kaiba was uncomfortable with this. He hadn't even realized that he had been…friendly with Kisara's family. She seemed pleased, though, like she was happy that he seemed to get along with the most important people in her life. Kisara started up the stairs, but Kaiba planted his feet at the bottom.

"I'm not staying. Be at work on Monday," he said to the silver haired woman, and pivoted on his heels to leave, nearly crashing into Mana, who had been standing behind him, hands on her hips. "Move."

"If I move and let you leave, _Kaa-san_'s going to ground me," Mana told him as a matter of fact. "Go upstairs and change."

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Ryusei Mana," she said, unafraid of Kaiba. She laughed, shooing him upstairs. "Go on. There's no way you're driving back to Domino City; it's far, and you might as well stay. _Kaa-san _makes a mean breakfast, too."

"Get out of my way."

"I said no, dammit," Mana said, furrowing her brows.

"Seto, hurry up," Kisara called up from somewhere upstairs.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes at Mana, knowing that if he didn't go upstairs now, then Kisara would come down and literally drag him up the stairs. But if he left, she couldn't do anything but watch his taillights disappear. "Last chance to move."

"Or what?" Mana challenged, seeming to know what Kaiba was thinking.

Kisara poked her head out from upstairs. "Seto, come on. I'm tired," Kisara complained, making her way down the steps with a yawn. Kaiba looked up to see that she had changed into an extra large men's shirt that was so big, it was like a dress, leaving her legs bare. He immediately looked away, glaring at Mana instead of being occupied with how cute Kisara looked in that oversized shirt. Not to mention an extra large shirt with the Kaiba Corp logo on it.

Kaiba debated on whether or not to shove Mana with all his might – or punch her, even – and make a mad dash to the door before Kisara could force him to retreat to her childhood bedroom. Or, he could turn around and punch Kisara instead, so Mana would have to help her and Kaiba could escape. Mana laughed to herself as though knowing what he was thinking but before he could make up his mind about what to do, Kisara grabbed hold of his wrist.

"Ugh, why do you take so long?" she asked, tugging him up the steps. Reluctantly, Kaiba was forced to put one foot in front of the other as he followed, Mana giggling from behind as she, too, headed upstairs for bed.

"Good night," Mana said suggestively, raising her eyebrows at the two of them as they headed into Kisara's room. Only Kaiba glanced back to fire the younger Ryusei a glare, however. Mana reminded Kaiba of Mokuba, ever the mischievous little sibling.

Kisara handed Kaiba a set of clothes and showed him where the bathroom was to brush his teeth and change, but when he came out, Kisara covered her eyes. "Will you put on a shirt? This is my parent's house, you know!"

Kisara's father's shirt was too small as he was a shorter man, and at 6'1", a medium sized shirt wouldn't cut it, so Kaiba just didn't wear it, only pulling on the gym shorts, which seemed to barely fit, leaving his work clothes folded. He scowled at Kisara. "If this is your parent's house, then perhaps you should don pants whilst in the presence of a guest."

Leaning against her headboard, Kisara uncovered her eyes and lifted the shirt to her waist, and Kaiba immediately looked away. "I am wearing pants," she said, but Kaiba didn't look. "Hey. Hey! Look at the pants!"

Kaiba turned his head back to the silver haired woman to see that she was only wearing a pair of black underwear and felt himself blush furiously, cursing himself for believing her. She burst out laughing, pulling her shirt down again. "Oh, come on, don't act like you haven't seen women's underwear before."

"Well, you're the one acting like you've never seen a man," was the only thing that Kaiba could say, and Kisara laughed at his lame comeback. This was too embarrassing. He needed to leave the house. Escape the Ryusei house! Escape, before he became attached to these insane people!

But…Kaiba had actually enjoyed himself. Takeshi was easy to talk to, and knowledgable of a lot of things that Kaiba was interested in, so Kaiba didn't need to be awkward about conversation because Kaiba knew that he could talk about business. He was mildly impressed that Takeshi could keep up even though business was not the older man's specialty. Mana was feistier than Kisara, so all Kaiba needed to do to neutralize the teenager was simply be himself. Kumiko was kind and Kaiba was already used to the kindness of others from Kisara's sweet demeanor that that was easy to deal with as well. Kaiba had to admit that they were all wonderful people and he could understand how, even though she was adopted, Kisara ended up the way that she did.

A family. How long had Kaiba longed to know what that felt like?

"Oh, wonderful, you've settled in," Kumiko said, popping into the room. Her voice snapped Kaiba from his thoughts and he didn't know what to do; he was standing in Kisara's room shirtless, with Kisara's mom not three feet away. He tossed his slacks, coat, and Takeshi's small shirt onto Kisara's bed and tried to put on his dress shirt without seeming awkward or obvious.

This was impossible, as he was Kaiba Seto and the king of awkward. The effects of the sakewere hitting him now and perhaps he was a _little _tipsy, as putting on the buttons seemed like a fucking _maze_. When were buttons that small? Shit, shit, _shit_!

"It'll get too hot if you wear that, Kaiba-_san_," Kumiko chuckled. "Our blankets are more than enough to make sure that you don't catch a cold; it'll be too stuffy with that shirt."

Kaiba didn't know what to say, but thankfully, Kisara swooped in to save the day. "Thanks for everything, _Kaa-san_. We're kind of beat, so we're gonna nod off."

Kumiko smiled warmly, the kind of smile that Kaiba felt mothers only performed in movies. But this woman was real, standing right in front of him. "Alright, then. It was a pleasure having you for dinner, Kaiba-_san_. Sleep well; I hope you can stay for breakfast tomorrow. You're always welcome here."

"Uh, thank you. G-goodnight," Kaiba said awkwardly, and Kumiko closed the door quietly.

Kisara stood up and rolled into the futon set up on her floor. "You can take my bed."

Kaiba glanced down at the mattress. It had to be a full size bed, but it seemed so short. "I can sleep on the floor. That bed is made for elves."

Kisara laughed, snuggling into the blankets. Kaiba averted his eyes again; why was she so _cute_? He glanced around her room for a moment, seeing a lot of band and movie posters, as well as her school desk, still as cluttered as her desk in her apartment back in Domino City. He looked back down at her. "Get on the bed."

"Ooh, feeling dirty tonight?" she joked, and Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous."

She sat up, and tossed the blanket onto the bed. "Okay. Gonna turn off the lights, then we can sleep." She flipped off the lights and then seemed to zoom right past Kaiba as she dove into her bed like her life depended on it. She flung the blankets over herself, covering her face and stayed there for some time.

"What the _fuck_ was that?" Kaiba asked, completely bewildered.

"I'm not forever protected," she said from under the covers. "If I can't see the ghosts then they can't see me!"

Kaiba sighed. "You're absolutely insane," he said. "Hand me a blanket, will you?"

"Come hug me first," Kisara said, pulling the blankets off her head. Kaiba sighed again and got onto the bed. It wasn't so small as he laid down next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. She was cold, her back against his bare chest and her vanilla scented hair nearly consumed him. She shifted the blankets so that he was covered, too, and then rolled over so that she was facing him, smiling sweetly. "Thank you for coming today."

"It's fine," Kaiba replied, not knowing what else to say. "Your family – they're…good people."

Kisara grinned, Kaiba able to see it even in the darkness. "Thanks. I love them, you know?"

"That is only natural for you to love your family."

"They like you, too, you know." She paused for a moment and Kaiba could only predict what was going to come next, her voice sounding hesitant. She took a deep breath. "Actually, Seto, I wanted to tell you that I—"

"Don't," Kaiba said quietly. He could already tell what she was going to say. "You know I can't."

Kisara paused again, exhaling. "You're right. Sorry."

"Don't apologize," he told her. "Just know that I can't. If you ever…feel like it is unfair, then…" Then what? Then _what_? Kaiba didn't know what to say yet again. If Kisara ever felt like he was being unfair to her, then what did he want her to do? Leave? That was the last thing he ever wanted her to do. But he also…didn't want to hurt her, and didn't want to lose her.

"I don't feel that way," she said, laughing a little. "I'm happy. Are you?"

It was such a simply question, but how was he supposed to answer? "I never thought about that," Kaiba said slowly. "I don't know how such a simple emotion is supposed to feel, so my answer may not be accurate. I have been tired, but I think that after meeting you, I am, indeed, happy. Happier…than I have ever been."

She giggled. "You should drink more alcohol more. Your answers are cute." Kaiba flushed in the dark, for once, glad that the lights were off and she couldn't see his expression. He didn't particularly think his answer was sappy or anything embarrassing, but then again, he could barely think straight.

He did know, however, that he had answered honestly. Kisara…did make him happy. It was only right that she know, right? She put her arm over him, nestling her face in the crook of his neck. "I'm so tired, so I'm gonna try and sleep. You can sleep on the floor if you want. But only after I fall asleep, okay?"

"Fine," Kaiba said, fully planning on leaving the moment she dozed off. But the young CEO slept soundly all night.


	23. Chapter 23: White Day

Kisara walked into Kaiba's office with a smile, and the CEO looked up from his desk upon hearing her enter. "Good morning," she greeted.

"Morning," he grunted.

"Do you have my chocolates?" she asked, grinning.

Kaiba glanced at the date on his computer and sighed inwardly. White Day. It was the day that men reciprocated women's actions from Valentine's Day. He wasn't the kind of man to let her generous actions go unreciprocated, but of course, he wouldn't say that. "No." It technically wasn't a lie, because he didn't _physically _have her present with him.

Kisara's jaw dropped playfully. "I put my heart and soul into your truffles and made you a stew and you didn't get me anything?" she said, pretending to be hurt as she clutched her chest.

"I'm sure you will receive ample chocolates downstairs from the males in your department," Kaiba said, looking back at his computer. "You need nothing from me."

Kisara shrugged a little, and Kaiba noticed that maybe she was actually a little disappointed from not receiving anything from him. Did she really care that much? "Okay, well, I'm gonna go downstairs and finish up for our deadline next week. I'll see you for lunch?"

"I have a meeting in two minutes that will last the rest of the day."

"Oh," she said, sounding a little disappointed. "Okay, well I hope you have a lovely day. See you after work, then." She waved a little, and then left the room quietly. Kaiba sighed, pressing the intercom. It seemed he could never rely on anyone but himself to get shit done.

"Kisara," Ryuji greeted as she entered her department.

"Hey," she said with a smile, sitting at her desk.

"I, ah, made these for you," he said, handing her a silver box with a bright red bow. He scratched his head sheepishly as Kisara opened it, to reveal beautifully made _honmei choco_, each of the truffles decorated differently. Kisara assumed that they were all differently flavored. "I hope you like them."

"This is fantastic, Ryuji-_san_, thank you," she said, popping one of the chocolates into her mouth. "Mmm, these are so good!"

Ryuji grinned widely. "I'm glad you think so."

"I never knew you could cook desserts," she said as her co-worker sat at his desk.

"Ah, just a little," he chuckling. "I was also wondering if you were free any time this weekend? I heard of this great new Italian place opening up and I'd love to take you there, if you want. My treat, of course."

Bu before Kisara could answer, Isono came into the department, holding a vase of fully bloomed white roses, looking slightly disheveled himself, as though he had been in a rush, or someone – _Kaiba _– had chewed him out for something. He placed the vase onto Kisara's desk, adjusting his suit. "Kaiba-_sama _has the rest of your gift coming in," he told Kisara, and she glanced behind the guard to see other staff members holding pearly white vases filled with at least two dozen roses per giant vase. They piled all of the roses onto Kisara's desk and onto the floor all around her area.

The entire department seemed completely shocked and honestly, so was Kisara. She had only been expecting a box of chocolates or something like that from the CEO, as she knew that he didn't have time to go about making things for her. But she had no idea that his gift would be reminiscent of her birthday gift.

"And for you," Isono added, holding down a giant golden box. Kisara took it, placing it on her lap, as her desk was covered in vases. Opening it, she saw an arrangement of white chocolate treats, from truffles, to fruit-flavored pieces, mixes between white and milk chocolate – Kaiba had remembered that she liked white chocolate! There even seemed to be some gold flakes on some of them. "Each piece is made with some of the finest chocolates in the world," Isono continued. He pointed to the piece she had been looking at, a small chocolate covered in golden flakes, and she picked it up. "That is Delafee chocolate from Switzerland, made with edible twenty-four karat gold. Kaiba-_sama _handpicked each piece from several collections around the world, ranging from Pierre Marcolini, retail price 10,500 yen per pound, to Chocopologie, retail price 260,000 yen per pound."

Kisara's eyes widened at those outrageous numbers. Those kinds of chocolates had to have some kind of pre-order policy. Not to mention the fact that it took time to be shipped in as well, and he probably needed to preorder all of those roses, buy the vases, and have someone arrange them.

"Holy crap, he goes over the top with these sorts of things, huh?" she asked, running a hand through her hair. She was extremely elated, but also concerned as to why Kaiba felt like he needed to shower her in such expensive things. Didn't he understand that she just wanted to spend time with him?

"Only for you," Isono answered completely honestly. "Also," Isono said, and Kisara looked alarmed.

"Oh, my God, he didn't need to get so nuts with the gifts. I was half joking with that stuff!" she said, sounding panicked as one of the workers stepped forward with a black box. "Noooooo! More jewelry? I told him to stop with this stuff. I'm so grateful for everything I've received already; I feel like such a spoiled brat!"

The worker opened the box and Kisara peered in hesitantly to see a slip of paper. Kisara's eyes skimmed over it several times, noticing that it was a receipt. She looked away from the large numbers at the end of the paper, deciding to hear what Isono would say about it. "Kaiba-_sama_ wishes you clear your weekend; after work this evening, you will accompany him on his private jet to the Shizuoka Prefecture to enjoy a weekend at Arai Ryokan."

Arai Ryokan was one of the most luxurious onsen bathhouses in Japan. The entire department was left at a complete standstill. Kisara didn't understand why Kaiba waited for her to go downstairs to give her all of these wonderful gifts in public instead of giving it to her upstairs in private.

Either way, it made Kisara incredibly happy. She smiled sweetly at the workers. "Thank you so much. Is he in the meeting yet? Can I go see him?"

"Kaiba-_sama _is in a meeting at the moment," Isono told her. "He said he will see you at five."

"Tell him thank you," Kisara said, smiling brightly. "He's absolutely wonderful, don't you think?"

None of the workers ever honestly thought so. They worked for Kaiba Corporations because it was a good job, and while Kaiba Seto was a genius, he was a tyrant and ran the company with an iron fist. Never before had anyone ever witnessed him showing even a speck of kindness to anyone besides Mokuba. However, it was different now. Perhaps, the workers thought to themselves, Kaiba Seto was human.

"He has also asked me to remind you that you have a deadline on Monday and he will not be pushing it back. So he advises you to finish your work before the day is over or you will not be able to spend the weekend at Arai Ryokan," Isono added, and Kisara merely laughed, nodding.

"We'll be done by the end of the day," Kisara assured him. "Thank you, Isono-_san_."

"Y-you're welcome, Kisara," the guard said, following the rest of the workers out of the programming department. Kisara was looking into the giant box that Kaiba had bought her, layers and layers of gourmet chocolate piled on each other. There had to be at least five pounds of chocolate. She plucked out a gold-flecked one and popped it into her mouth as she tried to rearrange the flowers on her desk to get work done so that she was allowed to attend the grand weekend that Kaiba had planned for the both of them.

Kaiba Corp's programming department was confused. There had been things in tabloids about Kisara and Kaiba together – shots of them at Kaiba Land together and other gossip reporters scribbling their own speculations about the tyrannical CEO and the sweet lead programmer – but no one believed any of it. Kisara even seemed to be struggling to ignore all the gossip, but she never answered anyone's questions about her status with Kaiba.

However, from an outsider's point of view, it certainly seemed like the two of them did have feelings for each other. But some programmers scoffed to themselves; Kaiba, with feelings? Kisara was the polar opposite of Kaiba Seto; what could a sweet woman like that see in an ice cold, power-hungry businessman?

But it didn't matter, did it? There certainly was something going on between them; they didn't need to ask Kisara to confirm it, so instead, they all stayed quiet and did their work to help Kisara meet the deadline so that she could, indeed, spend the weekend with Kaiba. Perhaps her warmth and kindness would be able to soften the CEO and all the workers at Kaiba Corporations would actually _like _their boss.

As soon as five hit, Kisara raced upstairs, seeing Kaiba heading back to his office, looking exhausted. He turned upon hearing her footsteps and had two seconds to brace himself for the flying-tackle-pounce-hug Kisara launched at him. He was able to hold her off the ground for a few seconds because of her momentum, but when she planted two feet back to earth, she gave him a sweet smile. All the exhaustion from the meeting seemed to melt away.

"Did you finish?" Kaiba asked, first and foremost as he headed into the elevator, the silver haired woman at his side.

She nodded happily, clapping her hands together. "Yes, we finished everything. I can still go tonight, then?"

"Those are what the conditions were, right?" Kaiba sighed, but he was glad that she managed to finish. He would have been pretty pissed off if she didn't meet the deadline. He did honestly want to spend this time with her, as it would quickly become busy.

"How was your meeting?" she asked, as though knowing what Kaiba was going to talk about next.

"We finalized the release date for your project," Kaiba informed her. "While we did have a range of about three days we were planning for, we finalized it today."

"When is it?"

"May fifteenth."

"Fifteenth? That's only two months from now!" she said, sounding excited.

"Yes, however, expect to complete the first finalized model next month for showcase at the Kaiba Corporations Expo mid April."

She nodded. "Okay, we can definitely do that," she said, running a hand through her hair. "I still can't believe this is real."

"Once your project begins selling, you will have more than enough income to move out of that apartment with that _make-inu _Jonouchi. I will personally aid in finding you new living arrangements so I never have to see that hound more than necessary," Kaiba said distastefully, and Kisara just laughed.

"I want to live with them, though," she said with a shrug. "I can use the money I make to pay off my student loans."

Kaiba scoffed. "You don't quite understand how much money you will be making, do you?" he mumbled, but Kisara didn't really seem to listen. Kisara didn't strike Kaiba as the kind of person to throw away money aimlessly and he assumed that once she did get royalties from her project, she would probably save it away or give most of it to her parents, perhaps fly out to see her brother more.

Kisara picked up her helmet from the front desk and caught up with Kaiba at the door. "The jet is scheduled to leave at six thirty, therefore, I will retrieve you at your apartment at six," he told her, heading to his Lexus. "Dinner will be served at eight and we are scheduled for the onsen at nine. Bring enough clothes for two days; we will be spending the weekend there."

Kisara nodded, shoving on her helmet and hopping on her bike. It was going to be a wonderful weekend.

* * *

><p>Kisara threw herself into Kaiba's Lexus at 6:02. The CEO rolled his eyes as she tried to climb in with her duffel bag, clothes still popping out. She had changed from the suit into more casual clothes, but still wore the thicket of coats over it.<p>

Kaiba pulled out of her parking complex and headed towards his private airport. "Why are you always late? I gave you an hour."

"Sorry, I was packing," she said with a sheepish smile, tossing her duffel bag into the backseat. "Thanks for doing this for me, Seto."

"You will soon become busy with preparing for the Expo; as will I. This will be one of the last times that we will have to relax even a little before the workload on Monday. I expect you to be at the top of your game after the weekend is over. Am I clear?"

She nodded happily, as though working were now a treat. "Crystal."

Kaiba paused for a moment, trying not to sound awkward or prying with his next words. "So, what other gifts did you receive?"

"Hm?" She seemed to snap back out of a trance and recapped Kaiba's words. She shrugged a little. "Some chocolates from my department."

Kaiba didn't care about _that_ shit. "Anything homemade?"

She nodded nonchalantly. "Yeah, Ryuji-_san_ made me some truffles; they were really good. I could tell he put a lot of time into it; he even asked me out on a date for this weekend."

"How unfortunate for him that your weekend is reserved for me," Kaiba said, his tone betraying his words. "And, as I said, we will become busy over the next few weeks, so you will have no time to go on dates."

Kisara resisted the urge to laugh. While the CEO was a master at hiding his emotions, jealousy, was, perhaps, something new to him, and therefore, he was quite transparent while trying to understand this new feeling. It always made her giggle inside when Kaiba expressed his jealousy towards Otogi Ryuji. But _never _would she seriously talk to him about this now; he might get uncontrollably pissed instead, not knowing how to deal with these new emotions. "What about if I want to go on a date with you?"

Kaiba scoffed. "Well, of course that'd be an exception. You and I already spend ample time together in any case, and seeing anyone besides perhaps Yugi or your puppy roommate Jonouchi would be understandable. However, I advise you not to waste your time."

She laughed a little, catching Kaiba's attention, but quickly recovered, hiding her amusement. She changed the topic. "I really liked the chocolates you gave me. I put them inside the bag so I can eat them at the _ryokan_. You really didn't need to spend all that money."

"I don't have time to make things," Kaiba told her. "However, those chocolates, and this trip is a one-time thing, so don't expect this kind of treatment again. I am not planning on spoiling you."

Kaiba wasn't sure if that was particularly true. It actually felt good. Kisara didn't _need _to tell him that she liked the chocolates, but when she did, and when he saw the smile on her face, it made him want to do other nice things for her. Granted that he wasn't always great at presenting them to her – he gave her the gifts while he was at the meeting because he wouldn't know how to react to her smiles in person, in front of other people – but she was very patient with him and took a few insults and let him justify himself with sarcasm so he would be able to keep his pride.

She cared. She cared _so much_ for him, didn't she? Kaiba didn't understand what it meant to be cared for, but _this_ was what that felt like, right? It felt warm – it felt _good_, and he never wanted to lose it. He didn't want to lose her.

At the airport, Kisara managed to fix her bags and followed Kaiba to his jet. He handed her a black leather case, much like a checkbook at a restaurant. "Give this to Isono on the way up."

Kisara giggled, taking the envelope. "You know, I was half-thinking you'd put me in a Blue-Eyes private jet or something," she laughed.

"My old jet was a Blue-Eyes," Kaiba said, not sure why she found that particularly amusing. "But Mokuba wanted a more comfortable plane, so I purchased one from Gulfstream Aerospace. It has not been updated for a few years but I am sure it will suffice for our short trip to the Shizuoka Prefecture."

"Feelin' so fly like a G6, like a G6," Kisara sang to herself, spreading her arms out like a plane as she seemed to do a little dance behind Kaiba as she tailed him to the door. Did she even listen to him? He merely shook his head at her silly antics, but was unable to find himself annoyed.

Isono was there, bowing to Kaiba as he approached. "Good evening, Kaiba-_sama_."

"Is everything ready?" he asked, and Isono nodded.

"Hi," Kisara greeted cheerfully, stopping at the base of the stairs to speak to Isono. "Are you going to the _ryokan_, too, Isono-_san_?"

"I apologize, Kisara, but I will not be accompanying you this time," Isono said, still not fully believing that this kind-hearted woman was Kaiba Seto's companion. "It, ah, is my son's birthday this weekend. He will be turning five."

She grinned. "Oh, then, well tell him Seto and I said happy birthday. I wonder if we're going shopping. I'll buy a souvenir or something from Shizuoka to give to your son!"

"Ah, there's really no need for that," he insisted, shifting his glasses.

She waved him off with a laugh. "Oh, come now. Of course there is. Kids should get gifts on their birthdays! What's your son's name? And what does he like?"

Isono shifted uneasily. Kaiba had already gone up into the airplane and was bound to get impatient. And as though on cue, he heard his boss yell from inside. "Kisara, what the fuck? Let's go!"

But she stood her ground, smiling at Isono. "Quick, tell me before Seto pops a blood vessel!"

"M-my son's name is Akira, and uh, he really likes anything," he said, stumbling over his words. "You really don't need to go out of your way, I mean, you've never met him, so there's no need to get him a gift—"

"Well, bring him to work next time, then," Kisara said with a shrug. Isono looked mortified at the idea but Kisara smiled gently. "You've been by Seto's side for a long time, Isono-_san_, and I am truly grateful that you've watched over him these past fifteen years. You've helped guide him down the right path, even if you really don't believe that. I do, though, and I'm glad that you're still his right hand man."

Isono wasn't sure how to respond. He certainly didn't feel like he had "led Kaiba down the right path." More like, he just let Kaiba do whatever the hell he want, especially since the boy from over a decade ago inherited the surname Kaiba. "You overestimate my importance, Kisara."

She giggled, shaking her head. "Well, these are for you," she said, handing Isono the envelope that Kaiba had asked her to deliver. "And your family, of course."

Isono flipped it open to see four plane tickets, each of them titled after Isono and his family. He had a daughter and a son; Kaiba knew this but what were the tickets for? Was Kaiba firing him? "I-I don't understand."

Kaiba stood at the top of the stairs. "Get on the damn plane right _now_," he said, shooting a glare down at the silver haired woman.

She laughed again, ignoring Kaiba Seto a second time. Isono tried to steal a glance at the CEO, only to see that the young man didn't look like he cared, just going back into the plane. "You know how Kaiba is," she said with a grin. "Take your family to Disney Land or something next week. Kaiba Land, maybe? Spoiler alert: I'm pretty sure you're going to be given a vacation for spring vacation."

Isono was rendered speechless. Not once had Kaiba shown any sort of gratitude and many times as the years went by, Isono grew frustrated with the selfish, tyrannical man. But it truly seemed like this woman had brought out the best in Kaiba Seto. "Thank you," he said, bowing low. "Please enjoy your trip."

Kisara nodded. "You, too. See you soon." She hopped up the steps and the other guards helped move away the stairs, shutting the hatch.

"What the hell took you so long?" Kaiba growled, already sitting in his seat. The plane was very spacey; very comfortable with ivory leather seats and flat screen televisions galore. Kisara took a seat next to Kaiba, placing her bag on the ground.

"Sorry," was all she said, and Kaiba didn't say anything about it. She knew that it was hard for him to justify doing nice things and just decided to let him have that one. Before buckling in, she lifted herself briefly, placing her hands on the sides of Kaiba's face before laying a delicate kiss on his lips. "Thank you for tonight."

"The weeks to come will be busy," Kaiba said, ignoring his racing heart. He needed to remind Kisara – and himself – one more time: "This is a one-time thing."

"I know," she said, and Kaiba turned his face to the window as one of the attendants instructed for seatbelts to be buckled, as the jet would soon be taking off. Kisara smiled at the attendant before he could leave. "Is there an in-flight movie?"

"I apologize, Kisara-_san_, but our flight is less than an hour, there will be no time for a full-length movie. However, feel free to enjoy the sights as we take off," he told her, smiling slightly. "I'll be back later to get you both drinks." The attendant moved to the back of the plane behind some curtains, leaving Kaiba and Kisara alone. He was curious as to why Kaiba Seto had such a sweet woman on board with him and why they were heading to a _ryokan _but just didn't say anything about it, of course.

The two of them chatted a little about Kisara's project, and talked about other things, where Kaiba actually asked about Kisara's family. Her mother had invited them to dinner every other Saturday to spend time together and Kisara was surprised that Kaiba was actually agreeing to accompany her to her family's house. They'd spent last weekend with her family and Kisara was, for a lack of better words, happy. The ice around Kaiba Seto's heart was finally melting.

They touched down a short while later, and were picked up by a limousine that drove them to the Arai Ryokan and they were lead to a large room and given clothes to change into. Kisara just walked around like a wide-eyed child, Kaiba feeling a little proud of himself for choosing this place.

"I'm gonna go change, okay?" she said, placing her duffel bag on the ground.

"Fine," Kaiba responded, doing the same as he loosened his tie and removed his jacket. Kisara left the room quietly, looking for the bathroom to change and it seemed like minutes before she happily returned.

"These are so cute!" Kisara squealed, coming into the room clad in a deep blue _yukata_ and traditional _gebi _slippers. Even the _ryokan_'s smallest size was a little big for her, but Kaiba realized in that moment that he really liked when she wore oversized clothing; she was especially cute. Kisara in an oversized _yukata_. That was his apparent weakness for tonight. She grinned at Kaiba, who was also dressed in a traditional _yukata. _"You look cute, too!"

He merely grunted in response, folding his work clothes into his bag. Kisara tugged on the back of his clothes and he turned to see his favorite smile. She opened her arms and instinctively, Kaiba turned and let her wrap her arms around him. He wasn't sure what to do, he had never given a hug, nor received one whilst standing that wasn't one of her tackle-hugs, so he just stood there a little awkwardly, gazing up for a little to study the ceiling. Perhaps he should react physically? So Kaiba lifted a hand and quite oddly patted her on the head.

"Noooooom," she said, parting her lips and chomping on the collar of Kaiba's _yukata_, as that was as tall as she really was. "Nom. Nom, nom, nom, nom!" She made noises as she bit the collar of his clothing, and the CEO just roll his eyes. He pulled back slightly, and kissed her instead.

"Will you stop?" he asked with a sigh and Kisara just grinned.

"I'm hungry, raaaahhh," she said, kissing Kaiba again. The young CEO also realized at this moment that he was growing particularly used to Kisara's kisses. He tried to keep a mental note not to become too spoiled with them.

"Dinner is going to be in a bit," Kaiba said, making his way over to the _kotatsu_. Kisara slid her legs under the table, just as the sliding doors were pushed open, revealing the workers with platters of food. One of them - a woman with a nametag that read "Yukko" - had to do a doubletake upon realizing that this was Kaiba Seto's VIP room, and once again when she realized that this was Kaiba Seto's VIP room that he was sharing with a woman.

"T-tonight's meal consists of _ume _cucumber and crispy calamari salad as an appetizer. Your main dish is _unagi ishiyaki _and a _sashimi _sampler. Will you be having anything to drink this evening?"

"A _sake _sampler will do fine," Kaiba said, and then looked to Kisara. "You drink _sake_, right?"

She nodded. "I tried it once. I was still underage when I went to America."

Kaiba looked back to Yukko. "Do you have anything on the sweeter side for her as well?"

"Um, something fruity?" Yukko asked.

Kisara nodded and smiled. "I like melon."

"Oh, um, then we have the _Suikako_, a melon saketini. It is melon syrup with shochu. Did you want that?"

"Sure," she said, not really seeming to know her alcohol, but Yukko wasn't about to ask Kaiba Seto's companion any unnecessary questions. Yukko bowed politely and left the room, sliding the door closed quietly behind her. It was definitely interesting that Kaiba Seto would bring a woman to a _ryokan _for the weekend and the young worker couldn't help but wonder about it. What was even more interesting was that she seemed like a very genuine girl.

Kisara's eyes seemed to be sparkling as the food was being brought and Kaiba could practically see her drooling. As soon as the door closed, leaving the two of them in the room alone, Kisara snapped her chopsticks, crying, "_ITADAKIMAAAAAAAAAASU!_" before digging into her _sashimi_. She seemed to just swallow the fish whole without even bothering to chew and Kaiba just rolled his eyes, allowing the younger woman to do as she pleased. When she seemed to have calmed down, ready to start on her _ishiyaki_, Kaiba slid a glass of sake over to her.

"Try it. It's Daiginjyo _sake,_" he told her.

"Your favorite, right?" she asked, and Kaiba was surprised that she actually remembered. He was also particularly curious as to how she handled her liquor. Her father was obviously not as adept at handling his drinks, but perhaps the silver haired woman would fair better.

She flipped the cup into her mouth, finishing off the shot. "Wow, warm," she said, placing a hand on her throat. She took a sip of her melon _shouchu _mix and smiled sheepishly, pointing at the little martini glass. "Sorry, I still like melon better."

"It was just a sample, as you will probably never be able to taste _sake _like that again," Kaiba told her, taking the next shot for himself. Kisara just laughed and the two of them finished their meal by a quarter to nine.

Kisara collapsed backwards, patting her belly with a sigh. "Oh that was delicious, Seto, thank you," she said, smiling at the ceiling. Seto, however, stood up and stepped into his _gebi _slippers, heading for the door.

"Get up and shower. Our scheduled time in the springs is at nine," Kaiba said, and Kisara groaned as she attempted to sit up.

"Ugh, but I'm so fat," she complained, but stood up regardless, dragging herself to the door. Kaiba sighed, but waited for her anyway, leading her to where the baths were. Yukko was waiting for them there.

She smiled at Kaiba and Kisara, handing them towels. "Please shower outside of the _onsen_, and at nine, you may both enjoy Arai Ryokan's hotsprings," she said with a polite bow.

"Okay, thank you," Kisara said, glancing around for the shower house again. Kaiba placed his hand on the top of her head and turned her in the right direction before shoving her lightly. The woman only giggled as she stumbled a little over her slippers, obviously a little light headed from the drinks for dinner, disappearing into the shower house.

Kaiba retreated to his respective house and sighed to himself quietly. He knew – he _knew _– that he had become so attached to her. He went to her family's house for dinner every weekend for fuck's sake! And he actually _enjoyed _spending time with those people. He even enjoyed Sunday afternoons with Yugi and his friends when Kisara was there. She made everything brighter; she was the essence of light itself.

Kaiba wondered when the time would come when he would need to protect her from Pegasus. The silver haired man hadn't contacted him since that first time last year, and Kisara hadn't mentioned anything about Pegasus calling her. Kaiba knew that it was likely she would say something about Pegasus trying to contact her, because the psycho would probably say something like, "_Tell Kaiba-boy I said hello_!" and Kisara would, in all her innocence, actually pass the message on.

The young CEO didn't even want to think about what he would do if he found out that Pegasus was trying to convince Kisara to leave him. While he was 99% confident that she wouldn't, there was always that 1%. Kaiba understood that people that didn't accommodate for even one percent ended up biting the curb and Kaiba did not want to be one of those people, especially for something as important as Kisara.

When he reached the _onsen_, Kisara was already there, her hair up in a towel as she floated around, seeming to be waiting for him. "Someone takes forever in the shower," she said sarcastically.

Kaiba merely grunted in response, and lifted his arms to shrug off the _yukata_. But Kisara was just _staring _at him with the most intense look he had ever seen. His brows creased inwards. "What the hell are you looking at?"

She pointed a finger at Kaiba's crotch and said very seriously, "Waiting for your peep to come out, so I can say hello."

He scowled at her as she giggled. "Will you stop being ridiculous?"

"Never," she answered, but turned around as Kaiba slipped out of the _yukata _and into the _onsen_.

Forunately, it was dark enough that it wasn't uncomfortable to be sitting naked in the hotsprings with a woman.

"Wanna see my boooooobs?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly as Kisara just laughed again, leaning against a rock, and thankfully, not drunk enough to be exposing her breasts. Kaiba could see the heat from the water in the crisp, cold air. It was the best season for _onsen_ and it was times like these where he did, indeed, use his 'CEO powers' to secure something luxurious.

"This is really nice," she said, smiling at Kaiba. "Thanks for taking me here."

"You don't need to thank me for every little thing," Kaiba told her. His tone wasn't malicious, or impatient, he was merely telling her. "I already said it was fine, so there's no need for any of that. Just understand that this is a one-time thing."

She nodded. "Yup." She turned to face him. "Where are we going tomorrow? You said we're spending the weekend here."

"You ask too many questions," Kaiba told her with a shake of his head. "Can you not just wait until tomorrow?"

"Nope."

"Well, that is unfortunate for you because I am not the kind of man to divulge his plans."

She laughed. "In other words, it's a surprise," she said, raising her eyebrows. "_Kaiba Seto_, I thought you weren't a fan of surprises."

"I'm not," he countered. "It is not a surprise."

"You're not supposed to lie to me, remember?"

Kaiba scowled. "Will you stop asking questions?"

Kisara laughed again, splashing some hot water at him. "I'm excited for this weekend. I promise I'll work hard for the expo and the release date."

"You had better," Kaiba said, but Kisara responded with laughter. Kaiba didn't care, though, he knew that she took work seriously and had not once let him down on anything concerning her new project. But while they were "friends" he was her boss as well and it was his duty to remind her of such things.

He glanced back at her to see that she had her eyes shut gently, swaying slightly in the water. He wasn't sure if she was just being herself, or if she was actually feeling a little tipsy from the alcohol. "Are you a light weight drinker like your father?" Kaiba asked, amused as she opened her eyes and seemed to snap out of something.

"No," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. "I just don't drink alcohol, okay?"

"That's the same thing."

"Is not."

"Yes, it is."

"Is not."

Kaiba stared blankly at her. "I'm not going to play this game."

She laughed, moving closer to him. Instinctively, Kaiba shifted sidewards, creating distance between them. She swam forward again and Kaiba tried to move but Kisara latched onto his wrist. She raised an eyebrow at him. "What're you doing?"

He swallowed a lump in his throat. "You and I are not at this level of intimacy."

"You mean being naked."

"Don't test me."

Kisara let him go and waved him off. Kaiba observed her movement and could tell that she was feeling a little heavy and hazed. "What does it matter? I'm sure you've seen tons of naked chicks, you're the CEO of a multi-bilion dollar company. What's the count?"

Kaiba glared at her. "You're obviously intoxicated."

"I'm just asking," she asked innocently. "How many?"

"I'm going to tell you again: _don't _test me."

"What?" she asked, making a face at him. "I was just asking a question."

"It's a stupid question and I am not obliged to answer it. I _will not _answer it."

"I'll tell you my count."

"I don't care," Kaiba said, becoming annoyed.

Kisara's eyebrow raised all-knowingly. "Oh? You don't want to know how many boyfriends I've had and how many I've shared a bed with? Men in my life don't matter to you, Kaiba Seto?"

Kaiba clenched his jaw. "Don't."

"Can I guess? Is it double digits? I wouldn't be surprised. Ten? Twenty—" Kisara was interrupted with a forceful kiss from the CEO. He could taste the alcohol in her breath, a mixture of sweet melon and the faint taste of the daiginjyo sake. He pulled away, holding her chin sharply and glaring at her with ice cold eyes.

"Let me be perfectly clear: my past doesn't matter because you are the only woman who is and ever will be important to me. Do you understand?" he growled, irritated.

She seemed shocked at first, still trying to regain her composure. "Yeah," she said finally, looking ashamed as she averted her eyes. "Sorry." She shifted away from him, placing the back of her hand against her forehead. Her voice was shaky, like she was about to cry, regretting pressing for answers. "Sorry."

Kaiba inhaled and exhaled, focusing on his breathing. He was half embarrassed about his words but there wa no taking it back now, right? It was obvious that Kisara was just as bad at handling her alcohol as her father and perhaps Kaiba never should have been curious about her reaction to the drinks.

"Hey, cut that out," Kaiba told her and Kisara looked at him with teary eyes. "If you let one tear fall out of your eyes, I'm going to slap you so hard that your tear ducts die and you'll never cry again."

Kisara laughed, smiling at his attempt to cheer her up. "That sounds like something I would say."

Kaiba scowled, leaning against the rock. "You have infected me with your stupidity, then, I suppose. I should probably quarantine myself before I end up losing brain cells."

She giggled again, splashing water at him. "I should probably drink some water when we go back, huh?"

"Great idea. Best one since the planner idea."

"I never did get another planner," she giggled.

Kaiba just rolled his eyes and Kisara honestly felt a little better. She tried to focus as not to sound tipsy or intoxicated and thought she did a rather good job. She killed her own buzz – at least for the time being.

Drying off and wrapping themselves back into the _yukata_, Kisara and Kaiba headed back to the room. She stumbled a little in the _gebi _and so Kaiba grabbed her hand with a sigh. "You need to learn how to handle your shit," he told her, the two of them walking back to their room hand-in-hand. "You had one _shochu _and a shot of sake."

"Yeah, I know that," she said with a little giggle. "I'm okay. I just need to drink water."

Kaiba opened his mouh to say something but was interrupted with someone calling his name. He looked up to see Yugi and Anzu heading towards the _onsen_ together, dressed in the same _yukata_ as Kaiba and Kisara. He sighed slightly. He was not expecting to see them here, of all people.

"Hey," Yugi greeted with a smile, of course.

"Oh, hi, Yugi," Kisara said brightly, lifting one of her hands to wave. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We won a trip on the radio," Anzu answered. "We're actually going to be heading into town tomorrow, and since next week is spring break, we invited everyone to come out, too. I texted you about it."

"Oh, I guess I forgot my phone," Kisara said with a shrug. She looked up at Kaiba. "We should go into town with them tomorrow."

He sighed. "Have you already forgotten that we have prior arrangements?"

Kisara grinned at Anzu and Yugi. "Oh, yeah, Seto surprised me with this trip for White Day," she said. Yugi and Anzu exchanged glances. "He has a surprise for me tomorrow, too."

Kaiba sighed again but didn't deny any of it. He didn't seem to particularly care whether or not Yugi and Anzu knew about their weekend plans. "Oh, well, some of us are already here for _onsen_," Anzu said. "Bakura was free, so he came, and Jonouchi used his New Year's bonus to bring him and Mai here. I think Otogi is coming in later, too. It was really last minute; he said he had plans for the weekend and then this afternoon he decided to come."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes slightly. Otogi was also rather wealthy because of the success of Dungeon Dice Monsters and did have the power to do things like this as well. He did recall Kisara saying that Otogi asked her on a date. Had Otogi expected his weekend to be free for a date with Kisara? Was that why he originally was not going to come to the _onsen_?

"Oh, everyone is here," Kisara said.

"Only for today, though," Yugi said, waving his hands. "We don't have enough money to stay for more than one night. Everyone already went into the _onsen_, we're last."

"Well, then have a lovely time," Kisara said, fingers still laced with Kaiba's. "Maybe we'll see you tomorrow, or some time tonight."

"Sounds good," Yugi said. "Bye, guys." With a wave, Yugi and Anzu headed towards the _onsen _and Kaiba and Kisara retreated into their room. The reason why Kaiba had come here was because he thought _no one else _was going to be here. Kisara had tight bonds with her friends and, naturally, would want to spend time with them as well. Kaiba was honestly a bit annoyed that they had to have shown up and probably ruined their whole weekend together.

"We're not going with them anywhere," Kisara said as she sat down. Kaiba furrowed his brows.

"What're you talking about?"

"I'm sorry I forgot but I promise that tomorrow and the rest of this weekend will be just us," she said, smiling sweetly. Kaiba's favorite smile. "You did this for me and I want to be able to give back to you. I know you're not super comfortable with everyone yet and that's fine because I do want to spend time with you. Okay?"

For once, Kaiba didn't argue. "Fine," he said, sitting across of her. He slid her a glass of mineral water. "Now drink before you feel sick tomorrow and ruin the weekend."

"Yes, _Kaa-san_," she laughed, drinking the water without question. They talked and chatted a bit, Kaiba ordering a few more drinks for himself, Kisara mumbling how that wasn't fair and Kaiba winning the argument by saying that he could handle his liquor. Kisara still managed to convince him to buy her another melon _shochu_, though.

Around eleven thirty, there was a light rapping on the door and Kisara lifted herself off the ground with all her might and trudged to the sliding doors. Kaiba rolled his eyes, just watching her as he sipped from a glass of beer. He nearly hurled it into the wall, however, upon seeing who was at the door.

"Hey," Otogi Ryuji greeted with a charming smile. Kisara was a little red-faced from her lack of alcohol tolerance.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaallo," she greeted, stepping aside as though going to let him in.

"Yugi and Anzu said you guys were room in here," Otogi said, not stepping into the room yet as Kaiba stood up in one smooth motion. "VIP Room, really nice."

"Oh, yes, it was Seto's treat," she said, smiling back at Kaiba. "He is lovely."

"Oh, I'm sure," Otogi said, raising his eyebrows as though doubting her word. "Because lovely people let a cute, innocent girl like yourself overwhelm herself on alcohol."

"Otogi," Kaiba snapped. "Outside. Now." Kisara seemed confused but Kaiba placed a hand on her head as though reassuring her. "Go sit down and have water. I'll be right back."

"Okie dokes," she said, lopping towards the table and plopping down to drink some water. Kaiba stepped out and closed the door behind him.

"What's this about?" Otogi asked, sounding innocent.

"You know what this is about," Kaiba said flatly, his face emotionless.

Otogi grinned sheepishly, indeed, knowing what Kaiba wanted to speak about. "I like her. She's a talented, smart, beautiful woman, and I like her." Kaiba hardened his stare but Otogi didn't seem a bit intimidated. "And I know she likes you. It's fine. Because when you mess up – and, no offense but, you will – she'll come to me and I will be there for her. I'm sure that you can take care of her as far as material things but I think I can be there for her emotionally and at the end of the day, I think that's what a girl like her would want."

The thing that was the most annoying was that Otogi spoke so calmly. He wasn't malicious, wasn't spiteful, he was simply stating, as though having read those exact words from a script.

"If you plan on waiting for Kisara, I advise you not to hold your breath," Kaiba said coldly. "You will definitely die a very sad, lonely death, Otogi."

Otogi chuckled lightly. "Alright then. I just wanted to pop in to see her, but I can see that I'm not welcome, so I'll be taking my leave. G'night," he said with a little salute, heading down the hall. Kaiba stayed outside to make sure that Otogi rounded the corner before going back into the room.

"What happened?" Kisara asked, looking up.

"Nothing," the young CEO said, sliding the door shut. He was quite annoyed as he sat across Kisara. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she said with a smile. "What'd Ryuji-_san _want?"

Kaiba pressed his lips together. Maybe it was worth asking her what she really thought. Kaiba heard that people's true feelings come out when they are drunk. "Do you think that I do not take care of you?"

Kisara looked concerned. "What? I don't think that at all. You take such great care of me all the time. Why do you ask?"

A wave of relief passed through Kaiba and he ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. "No reason," he said, standing up to lay out the futons. Kisara yawned, leaning back, and Kaiba took that as a cue to go to bed. He stood up to lay down the futons and helped Kisara into hers before flicking off the lights. He'd clean up later in the morning.

"Raaaaaahhhh," he heard her say vaguely and looked up from his blankets to see the silhouette of her arms reaching for him.

"What?" he asked, propping himself up. He was a bit tired himself.

"You're so far away," she said quietly, latching on to his futon and trying to drag him closer to her. Kaiba sighed, sitting up off the futon and pushed it closer to hers before lying down again. Kisara hummed happily as she nestled in Kaiba's chest. "That's much better."

Just for tonight, Kaiba allowed himself the luxury of wrapping his arms around her, one of his hands softly stroking her hair as he waited for her to fall asleep. _Just for tonight_, he told himself, _only tonight_. The CEO had never slept any better.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Long chapter because I haven't had time to write a lot recently so I think that updates might be a little slower. Not sure when to write and I feel self-conscious when writing when my boyfriend is around, which is like, all the time, and my roommate right now is a...series of bad words so I hate staying in my room so that shit sucks and ugh why do I always write my life stories in these things as long run on sentences but anyway the main point is that updates are gonna slow, I'm sorry. Thanks for all the support, it makes me happy to know that there are people who like my writing! **


	24. Chapter 24: Don't Say 'I Told You So'

"Oh, my God," Kisara complained upon coming into work on Monday. She was gripping several tabloid magazines and Kaiba resisted the urge to sigh once again at her uncanny ability to care what everyone else thought.

It was just as he expected; the tabloids showcased photographs of the two of them venturing around the Shizuoka prefecture. On Saturday, Kaiba had given her a credit card with 500,000 yen on it and, knowing that she would not accept such a monetary gift, told her that for every 100 yen left on it by the end of the day, he was going to fire one person from his company. Kaiba assured her that he would not tell her how to spend anything; so she was in control of the day

Of course, this plan was not perfect, as she did go into at every single novelty shop buying things with a character called "Hello Kitty" and shopped in the pinkest, girliest stores she could find. After buying the first few volumes of _Dragon Ball _for Isono's son, she also spent several thousand yen at every single _purikura _shop she could find and as a result, Kaiba had dozens of pictures with her with bright colored backgrounds and teddy bear and heart stamps. And upon discovering that they were stickers, she stuck them _everywhere_. Kaiba's wallet, his briefcase, his creditcards, his face. It was a nightmare.

But at the same time, it was a rather fun weekend together. Kisara had the 500,000 yen credit card on Saturday and on Sunday, it was Kaiba's turn and so they visited museums and temples, had a gourmet dinner in the city and the like. They spent a lot of time together and even after returning to Domino, Kisara stayed at Kaiba's for a bit to watch some television before he took her home.

But the paparazzi was relentless, spreading gossip about them and Kisara always seemed more concerned with Kaiba's image than he was, and he was actually a bit worried that she might not want to spend any more time with him in public.

"Every tabloid in the city," she complained, running a hand through her hair. "This is disastrous. I feel so terrible; I'm sorry. I should have been more aware."

"There is nothing you can do about it now," Kaiba said. "Why do you care so much about what awful magazines have to say?"

Kisara blinked a few times. "Don't you care?"

"Not for tabloids," Kaiba told her. "They are just starving journalists with not enough talent to work for a real magazine. I don't care what those trashy pages have to say and neither should you."

Kisara took a deep breath. "Okay, as long as you're not mad."

"Why would I be mad?" he asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. Kisara just smiled and shrugged and Kaiba sighed. "You can go to work now. Do not forget that you will become busy, so stick to the schedule, do you understand?"

"Yup," she said, grabbing all the tabloids she had bought and tossing them into Kaiba's wastebin. She leaned over his desk and he obliged with a long kiss before she pranced out of the room.

Kaiba exhaled, relieved that confrontation went rather well. The weeks would, indeed, become busy, but Kaiba reminded himself that he was going to try his best to make the effort to spend time with her. Kisara got stressed out, too, and perhaps being with him – even if he was awkward – would be able to help. It was for the both of them, as Kaiba did get stressed out and Kisara was the only remedy.

The day went by slowly. Kisara still came for lunch, but she was busy scribbling things down and clacking away on the computer, and Kaiba was occupied with crunching numbers. "Stay over tonight," Kaiba said suddenly, catching her attention. She paused completely, brushing her hair back.

"Huh?"

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. What the _hell _was that? Take it back now! "Nothing, nevermind."

She smiled sweetly. "I'd love to stay over. Would that be okay?"

Kaiba clenched his jaw. "It would be fine."

"Can you pick me up at my house after work? I have to grab my things. We can do work together. Watch television. That sort of thing," she said, shrugging innocently as to not change his mind.

"You might as well stay for the week," Kaiba said, keeping his eyes on his computer. "It will be more convenient for the both of us, as you do not have school this week and will be working everyday."

Kisara smiled. "Sure. Maybe next week you can stay over my apartment."

Kaiba scoffed. "With that hound running around full of diseases? I shall pass."

She tried to make the saddest face possible, knowing that Kaiba could see her from the corner of his eyes. She feigned disappointment in her voice. "But that's not fair. I'm staying over your place for a week. We can just take turns."

"Ugh, fine," Kaiba snapped, and Kisara grinned, clapping her hands together.

"Slumber party!"

"I take it back."

She laughed, flicking her wrist at him. "You can't take it back now, silly bean. It's gonna be fun! We'll stay up all night painting each other's finger nails and curling our hair and watching romance movies and eating ice cream and talking about booooooooys!"

Kaiba scowled at her jokes and she smiled, glad that he had suggested something like this. It was how the coming weeks went. Kisara brought a bag of her things to Kaiba's for a week and he would do the same the next week. Kisara thought that perhaps Kaiba might get annoyed with her, but really, he was quite pleasant. He didn't make her sleep on the couch – even though he did rip the covers off her to wake her up – and prepared two slices of toast for her in the morning.

"Oy, oy, I'm completely against this, Kisa-_chan_," Jonouchi complained upon seeing Kaiba come into his humble apartment with a bag of his things for the week. Jonouchi complained every week that Kaiba stayed over, which, so far, had been _one_.

Kaiba stood there, unmoving, although Kisara could sense in the air that he was annoyed. "Jonouchi-_san_," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Please."

"You don't need to beg this fucking _make-inu _for me to stay," Kaiba said sharply. "If anything, he should be grateful you are living here to support his sorry ass with rent."

Jonouchi stood up from the couch, lashing an accusing finger at Kaiba. "Shut the fuck up, Kaiba. I ain't ever asked for your opinion an' I don't give a fuck what you think! I'm still against you staying here and you being involved with Kisa-_chan _at all!"

"Well, unfortunately for you, I am here to stay," Kaiba said firmly, and Kisara resisted the urge to smile before stepping between Kaiba and Jonouchi. She gently placed her hands on Kaiba's chest as though to ask him to stop, and to her surprise, he relaxed a little. "Deal with him before I put him down myself," he told her, patting her on the head before sweeping down the hall to her room.

Kisara sighed and turned to Jonouchi. "Hey, don't be blamin' me!" he said immediately.

She laughed, waving him off. "Please just try to be nice, okay? Seto is a different person now. I know you're worried about me but there's no need. Trust him. Trust me. Okay?"

Jonouchi seemed hesitant. "Whatever. Just keep him away from me."

She smiled and headed to her room, closing the door behind her. "We're gonna go to Yugi's later for dinner and games. Is that okay?" she asked, plopping next to him on the bed.

Kaiba checked his watch and sighed. "I suppose that is fine, as it is Sunday. It is still the weekend. However, I expect you to be at the top of your game tomorrow."

She nodded, scooching closer to him. "Of course."

Kaiba turned to her slightly, taking her face in his hands. "Good," he said, and then kissed her deeply, parting his lips immediately and shifting his body so that she was pressed against her mattress. She pulled back, giggling as she laid kisses on his jawline leading back to his lips.

"Jeez, someone misses me. I just saw you yesterday, you know. We did this same thing in my parent's house, in my old room with all my old stuffed dolls looking at us. I really didn't know you were that kinky," she teased, running her hands through his chocolate colored hair.

"Shut up," he growled, lowering his face to hers again to kiss, and kiss, and kiss. He hated that he was so spoiled in her affections and sometimes he felt like he was taking advantage of her. But that was the truth, right? He was taking advantage of the fact that she cared so much for him, but at the same time, he was giving back, right? He was letting her know that he cared for her, too? By inviting her to stay and spending time with her? That made up for him wanting to be close physically, right?

There was a sudden rapping at the door and Kisara and Kaiba split apart as though being caught by parents. Jonouchi didn't open the door. "We're leavin' soon, Kisa-_chan_."

"O-okay," she called, sitting up and straightening herself out. She ran a hand through her hair and hustled to gather her things in a smaller bag – why women changed bags so often was completely incomprehensible to Kaiba.

"Oh, fuck," Kaiba mumbled as he sat up. He had gotten a little carried away and grabbed one of her scarves from her drawers, throwing it over her head. "Put that on."

She seemed confused, but then checked the mirror, noticing a few dark patches of skin on her neck and near her collarbone. Because she was so fair skinned, it was very obvious and distracting. There was a number of ways that she could have reacted to this, but, being Kisara, she laughed. "Oh, gosh," she said, swinging the fabric over her neck and changing jackets so that her outfit looked more composed. She slipped her bag onto her shoulders and grinned at Kaiba. "Ready?"

He grunted in response and followed her out to where Jonouchi and Honda were waiting. Kaiba looked at Kisara for a moment. "I hope you are not suggesting that I drive that mongrel," he said, referring to Jonouchi.

"What the fuck you said?" Jonouchi roared, standing up. Honda pulled him back down immediately, firing a warning glance at his friend.

"Exactly," Kaiba said, his face void of emotion as he slipped on his shoes. "If Honda needed transportation then that is fine. At least he isn't filthy like some other hounds in this pet store of an apartment."

"Thanks, but Anzu's waiting outside," Honda said with a slight smile, surprised that Kaiba even offered to give him a ride.

"Fine," Kaiba said, sweeping out with Kisara behind him.

"See you guys there," she said, catching onto Kaiba's arm as he headed downstairs. "Thanks for coming today," she told him, squeezing his arm a little. It was those little gestures of affection that Kaiba really noticed and appreciated. While she always thanked him, it was those things, squeezing his arm, or a light kiss, or simply rubbing his knuckles, that really made him feel like someone special to her.

"This is important to you, so it's fine," Kaiba said as he unlocked his car.

Kisara was happy. Kaiba had been a little more open with her – or at least trying to be – in the past few weeks that they had been having sleepovers. He tried his best to show that he cared about Kisara through actions, as she knew that he was not good with words. It was nice. To finally feel like he truly cared for her.

"Hey," Yugi greeted Kaiba and Kisara with a smile upon opening the door to his house.

"Hi, Yugi-_san_," Kisara said cheerfully as she stepped in, hanging her jacket on the coat rack. Kaiba followed in suit, slipping off his coat as well.

"Oh, your scarf, Kisara-_san_," Yugi reminded her and Kisara absently tried to unwind it but Kaiba caught her hand gently, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes. She seemed to remember why she was wearing it and grinned sheepishly.

"She's fine," he told Yugi. "She gets cold easily."

"Yup," she said in agreement, following him to the couch and whispered, "Sorry."

"Don't apologize, it's fine," Kaiba told her, turning his attention to the television now.

"Kisara," said a voice, and Otogi emerged from the kitchen, holding a bottle of unopened melon soda. He grinned upon seeing her. "I thought I heard you."

"Ryuji-_san_," she greeted politely, offering him a smile. Kaiba's face remained emotionless. "I hope that's for me!"

The man flashed her a charming smile. "Yep, bought a pack on the way here for you," he said, handing it to her. He smiled at Kaiba. "Can I get you anything, Kaiba?"

"No."

Kisara took a sip from her soda and capped it again, tilting her head in confusion. "Are you sure? Did you want me to grab a beer or something?"

Kaiba didn't hear it himself, but Kisara certainly did; his tone softened a bit. "No, I'm fine."

She smiled, looping her arm through his and leaning against him. "Okay, then," she said, turning her eyes away from Otogi and to the program that Kaiba was watching but not interested in. Kaiba didn't care as long as Kisara's attention was not directed towards that womanizing Otogi.

Eventually, everyone came over and they started the board games and other team-oriented games – why college students enjoyed children's board games more than children themselves, Kaiba didn't understand – until eventually it was time for dinner. They had ordered several pizzas and were sitting around the coffee table, some movie playing in the background.

Kaiba was actually a little pleased with tonight's results; he and Kisara – and whatever team they were on together – won most of the games. Otogi had left early – that had been the best part of the day – but Kaiba was surprised at how adept the others were at business-type games like the virtual "Monopoly" game, and civilation-type games like "Settlers of Catan." It had been fun; probably one of the best game nights they had together as a group. They were going to get to playing some kind of Mario Party game next, Kaiba had never played it but he was already guessing that he could probably win.

Crowded in a room of people with hot pizzas, Kisara was a little warm and so she loosened her scarf a little, making sure to nudge Kaiba and have him check to make sure it was okay. He made the slightest gesture with his shoulders that seemed like a shrug so Kisara just kept it like that, leaning over to grab a pizza.

However, Jonouchi was feeling exceptionally annoyed tonight and kept his eyes on the young CEO and Kisara. What could such a nice woman like Kisara see in a monster like Kaiba? Jonouchi still didn't understand how she couldn't feel like needing a shower after sitting next to Kaiba for so long. Jonouchi already felt like he'd leapt into a pile of mud. Kaiba _had to _have an ulterior motive for keeping himself so close to Kisara, right? Whatever it was, Jonouchi wasn't going to rest until he found out and kept his friend safe from a wolf like Kaiba.

So when the silver haired woman loosened her scarf and leaned down for a pizza, Jonouchi found his reason. It was definitely a hickey on her neck – just one – that Jonouchi saw for a split second before she sat up again and brought the pizza slice to her lips. Jonouchi narrowed his eyes.

"It's kinda hot, Kisa-_chan_," he said dryly. Kaiba glanced at the blonde from the side of his eyes. "Why're you still wearin' that scarf?"

"Eh?" she asked, tugging at the material a little. She placed her plate down for a bit so she could look at her scarf again. "I like the colors. Blue's my favorite, you know."

"I've never actually seen you wear that scarf before, though."

"It's new," she said with a smile. "Cute, isn't it? I picked it up when Seto took me to the Shizuoka prefecture."

"What's Kaiba makin' you hide?" Jonouchi asked, straight to the point.

Anzu glared at her friend. "Jonouchi! What are you implying? Will you just stop causing trouble already?"

"I ain't causin' shit!" Jonouchi snapped.

"Obviously you are," Honda said, raising an eyebrow. Even he was beginning to become annoyed with Jonouchi's constant antagonism against Kaiba. While it was odd that Kisara would want to hang around Kaiba, it wasn't like her to hang around someone who treated her badly. She had stuck with him for this long; there had to be something in him that changed, right?

In one swift motion, Jonouchi reached over and tugged on the end of the scarf, pulling it off Kisara's neck. Her hands immediately lifted to cover the tainted skin but it wasn't quick enough and the after-effects of her little passion with Kaiba in her room were momentarily visible to everyone she knew.

Anzu stood up while no one spoke. "Kisara-_chan_, I have something for that," she said, gesturing to the bathroom. Kisara looked at Kaiba for a bit.

"Just go," he said quietly, and she stood up, following Anzu to the bathroom. As soon as everyone heard the door close, Jonouchi whipped the scarf back at Kaiba.

"See? See what I fuckin' mean? He's bad news for Kisa-_chan_," Jonouchi insisted.

Yugi placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "You're just overreacting. It's nothing to make a fuss over, Jonouchi."

"What? How can you say that, Yugi? Can't you see that he's totally using her?" Jonouchi glared back at Kaiba, who hadn't said a word. "That's right, I know you ain't got nothin' to say 'cause it's true! Kisa-_chan _is the nicest kid in the world and you're completely taking advantage of her kindness and her willingness to sympathize for a monster like you. You're the worst, Kaiba! What's your plan, huh? You plannin' on givin' her up after your big project is released and finding some other girl to mess with? You must be really fuckin' bored if you think you can go and take advantage of completely innocent people like Kisara!"

"Jonouchi, please calm down," Bakura said, becoming worried with the tense atmosphere. He glanced down at Kaiba's fists, which were balled so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Bakura was surprised that the CEO was being so silent.

"There ain't no way I'm gonna calm down while this jerk is plotting to toss Kisa-_chan_ away when somethin' better comes along! I was just gonna stand by and watch before but this has gone on long enough. Why aren't you committing to her? You know she wants to be in a relationship and you're not makin' any kind of move to change anything! If you really cared about 'er then you'd ask her to be with you in a real way. You're just afraid to be in a relationship and that's why you're stringin' her along and not committin'! You don't know how to be a decent human being and there's no way that you can ever make Kisa-_chan _happy, and you don't even really care about her or her happiness, so why don't you just fuck off—"

"I've had enough," Kaiba snapped viciously, standing up. He glared at Jonouchi with those cold blue eyes the blonde remembered so clearly. "How _dare _you accuse me of not caring for her? Everything I have done these past few months has been for her. You think I would 'toss her aside' when I 'find something better' but you and I both know that she _is_ the best. I can guarantee you that I wouldn't even be breathing the same air with losers like you if she didn't tell me that it made her happy. I go out of my way to make her happy _because _she is important to me and I plan on keeping her around for as long as she wants to stay by my side. How _dare _you insult my intentions, and how dare you insult _hers_?" He swept around the couch and ripped his jacket from the coat hanger, slinging it over his shoulders. "I've had enough of this group of imbeciles. Don't expect to see me in this fucking house ever again, with or without her." He slammed the door so hard that the entire house shook.

The rest of the men could only stand there in shock. None of them had expected Kaiba to say anything like that. And, of course, at that time, Anzu and Kisara came back out, with Anzu's make up skills almost completely masking the dark spots of skin on Kisara's neck. She grinned. "See? All better now," she said, coming into the living room. She glanced around for a moment, confused as to why everyone was standing. "Where's Seto?"

Honda, Yugi and Bakura tried to camoflague into the air and seemed successful as Kisara turned her attention to Jonouchi. She didn't seem angry, just a little confused. "Jonouchi-_san_? Where'd Seto go?"

"He left," Jonouchi said with a shrug. "Ah, I dunno what was up with him."

Kisara furrowed her brows a little. "He left me here? Seto doesn't get mad for no reason, Jonouchi-_san_."

Jonouchi scoffed. "You obviously don't know Kaiba."

"I know him better than you do," Kisara said, her firm answer surprising everyone. She actually looked a little angry, and scooped up her bag and her scarf from the couch, moving towards the door to leave. "I don't know why you continue to antagonize him, but whatever your reason, please stop. I'm tired of you picking a fight with him over things that happened five years ago. He's changed now; he is a better person and you're the one that chooses to be blinded and not see that."

Jonouchi was shocked, down to the bone. "Are you kiddin' me? You're the one that blind! He's a dick, Kisa-_chan_, and I can't believe that you'd choose him over me!"

"Seto may not have always been the kindest man in the world but he treats me right, and I'm happy standing by his side and I will continue to support him and give him strength for as long as he allows me."

"Are you even listenin' to yourself? You sound so desperate, like a fuckin' nut, saying you're gonna give Kaiba strength; the asshole's the most powerful man in the world, he doesn't _need_ you!"

That one hit he spot and Kisara glared at Jonouchi. "Thank you for having me Yugi-_san_, but I should go and find Seto."

"I can drive you," Anzu offered, but Kisara shook her head.

"No, I think know where he is and I'll find my own way there," she said, and looked back at Jonouchi. "Please don't expect me home for some time. I'm obviously not welcome there so until I am, I think I'll be finding somewhere else to sleep."

"I ain't never said you're not welcome," Jonouchi snapped. "What the hell are you even doin'? You're totally overreacting!"

Kisara ignored him. "You hate Seto and therefore, you hate me. Goodbye, Jonouchi -_san_," she said, and shut the door quietly behind her.

* * *

><p>Kisara knew exactly where to go and luckily, the next bus took her straight to her destination. She spotted Kaiba in the usual booth inside Tsuki's about forty minutes after leaving Yugi's house, and made her way over to him, sliding into the seat across him. He was working on his laptop, a half empty bottle of beer on the table. He glanced up upon seeing her.<p>

"Sorry, I had to catch the bus here," she said, placing her bag on the seat. "Where'd you get a laptop anyway?"

"I always have one. And what are you doing here?" Kaiba asked curtly, not making eye contact with her. He was sure that Jonouchi had probably said some nasty things about him to Kisara after she left. Perhaps she was here to tell him that she would no longer he seeing him. Kisara treasured her friends. Kaiba knew this, and that's a part of the reason why he even bothered spending time with Yugi and his group. If her friends said something, Kaiba knew that a part of her would always believe them.

But Kaiba had enough of Jonouchi talking shit about him. Kaiba thought that it was obvious to everyone – except Otogi – that he cared about Kisara, which was why Yugi and everyone else didn't seem to care that Kaiba and Kisara always showed up together and spent time together. But apparently, there were even stupider people than Otogi.

Kisara shrugged with a smile. "They told me you left, so I figured I'd come find you and join you for dinner," she said, waving a waiter down and ordering her usual soybeans and melon soda.

Kaiba scoffed, shaking his head as though he didn't believe her. "Is that all that group of idiots told you?"

"I don't care what Jonouchi-_san_ says," Kisara said, knowing what he was referring to, and she saw Kaiba look up ever so slightly. "I don't think you're a bad person at all, regardless of what he says. You've been so kind to me and I don't understand why Jonouchi-_san_ is holding such a grudge from the past. I believe in you, though; you know that, right?"

"You really don't care?" Kaiba asked, still sounding a faint bit cautious. "That _make-inu _does need to control his temper, but I was certainly not so kind to that group before; this is a fact, not just something they fabricated."

She giggled. "I don't doubt that you used to be super mean, I kind of experienced that a few times. But I know that you've changed and I don't care what he says because I'll always believe in you. I trust you, and I will always defend you, no matter what, okay?"

Kaiba nodded slightly, pausing for a moment. "Okay," he said, turning his eyes back to his computer and letting a heavy burden evaporate from his shoulders. "Thank you."

"Also," she added with a grin, and Kaiba looked up at her with a bit of suspicion.

"What?"

"I kinda told Jonouchi-_san _that I'm never going home," she said, running a hand through her hair. "Soooooo—"

"You may stay at my penthouse until that rabid dog has calmed himself," Kaiba said immediately. "Is that all you needed to ask?"

She seemed surprised that he offered up his place so quickly, but she smiled and nodded. "Yup. We need to go grab your bags from my apartment and grab my things for another week, too, so maybe later after dinner. I think they're probably still at Yugi's."

"Fine," Kaiba said as the waiter brought by Kisara's food. They spent dinner together, just the two of them, and it was, like all the other times they spent together, nice. Kaiba drove back to the apartment. "Did you need me to go upstairs?" he asked, upon parking in the visitor's stall.

"I might. I'm not that great at carrying big bags and walking down stairs," she said and Kaiba sighed, following her up to her apartment. Kisara pushed the door open to her apartment to see Jonouchi and Honda lounging on the couch watching the late show. She hardened her gaze and Kaiba was actually impressed that she looked legitimately angry. "We're just here picking up my things," she told them and made a step forward to move into her room but Jonouchi stood up, holding his hands out.

"Hey, hey, wait," he said, blocking her path. He scratched his head sheepishly. "I, ah, wanted to apologize. I kinda lost it back there, but you gotta understand that I do have good intentions." He turned to glare at Kaiba. "But after what he said, I ain't got no choice but to trust your judgment, Kisa-_chan_."

"What he said?" Kisara asked, her angry look disappearing. She turned to smile at Kaiba. "What'd you say?"

"Nothing you don't already know," Kaiba said, not fully believing that Jonouchi would say something like that in front of Kisara. Kaiba knew he probably wouldn't be able to repeat those words in front of the silver haried woman and hoped that he didn't need to. It was way too embarrassing.

"But just 'cause I trust Kisa-_chan_'s judgment doesn't mean that I trust _you_," Jonouchi said, pointing a finger at Kaiba. "So, I'm sorry, I guess, for accusin' you of that shit earlier."

"Fine," Kaiba said, and Jonouchi seemed surprised, as though Kaiba were going to tell the blonde to get on his knees and beg for forgiveness.

"But when he hurts you," Jonouchi told Kisara, sounding serious as he sat back down on the couch. "Don't say I didn't tell you so."

Kisara smiled, hugging Jonouchi with a smile. "Thank you," she said, smiling sweetly at the blonde. "It really means a lot to us, Jonouchi-_san. _Sorry, but I'm still staying at Seto's place tonight, though. Maybe we'll be back later."

"Ah, okay," Jonouchi said, scratching his head again as Kisara pranced into the room. Kaiba sighed a little at Kisara's inability to really stay mad at someone and waited for her to pack her things. Jonouchi glanced at Kaiba. "You really told her all of those things?"

"Unlike you, I do not always necessarily use words to communicate," Kaiba said, trying to keep his tone from being malicious. "She does know all of those things because it is the truth. I can also assure you that you will not ever be muttering 'I told you so' to Kisara because I will never hurt her."

"We'll just see about that, Kaiba," Jonouchi scoffed. "Just 'cause I'm gonna try and tolerate you don't make us friends, ya hear?"

"Loud and clear, _make-inu_," Kaiba said as Kisara emerged from the room with her messy duffel bag and Kaiba's small suitcase of clothing. She grinned.

"Ready," she said, and Kaiba grabbed his suitcase from her. "Bye, guys. Thanks again, Jonouchi-_san_. We really needed that."

"Yeah," Jonouchi said, staring straight at Kaiba. "Just be careful."

She smiled and looped her arm around Kaiba's. "I will."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for bearing with me. Also, if you guys would all do me a favor and go to my profile page thing, I have my eBay store link up there (just click "Items for Sale" on the left of the eBay site to see wussuh' if it's not showing up); I'm trying to sell some cute ass YuGiOh stuff! It's the One Coin Ancient Figure Priest Seto and Kisara mini figures. On eBay I have them for 15$ each but if anyone wanted to buy both then I'd take it off eBay right away and sell it to you for 25$ for both (free shipping in the US!). Each one costs about 17$ from other people :( So if you're interested then just shoot me a PM (through fanfiction or tumblr) or email me at jharada8[at]hawaii[dot]edu and they will be youuuuuuuurrrrrrssssss~~~ It'd really make me happy to know that they would be in a good home of people that love SetoxKisara ^^ **

**Now that the shameless self promotion is done, THANKS again for reading, I am so grateful to have such support. Keep reviewing, reading, telling your YuGiOh-lovin' friends, etc, etc. HAVE A LOVELY THREE DAY WEEKEND~ (Don't know if it's a three-day weekend anywhere else, but it is here in Hawaii so...yeah...okay. Longest A/N ever, shooties~)**


	25. Chapter 25: It's A Ryusei Thing

"You need a new dress for expo," Kaiba said three days before the Kaiba Corporations Expo. It was one of the largest things Kaiba Corporations put together, as it featured a lot of other innovations from other companies, as well as previewed releases for upcoming games. The Expo was in Tokyo, and Kaiba rented out the Tokyo Dome for a weekend just for the expo.

"Nah, I can just wear the one you bought me for the demo," she said with a smile, flipping through a magazine. She had been staying at Kaiba's more often than he stayed at her apartment, so much so that he had bought her a little vanity for her to store her clothes and other belongings and kept this vanity in his room.

Between work and school, Kisara thought she wouldn't be able to see Kaiba as much, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays he took a half-day off and spent the afternoon at home with her and Mokuba. Mokuba was out now, however, somewhere with Rebecca. Kisara never really saw the kid anymore, and she wondered if they were still talking.

"But you have already worn that dress before," Kaiba said, sounding a tad bit confused. "Women do not prefer to wear the same clothing more than once, is that not correct?"

Kisara laughed, swatting his shoulder. "Oh, come on. If I lived like that, I wouldn't even have money to eat crackers. I can just waer that dress again, I don't have a problem with it."

"I want you to sing," Kaiba said, and Kisara looked shocked.

"What?"

"I want you to sing at the expo for the opening. You will need a new dress."

The light that Kisara's face emitted upon hearing this was completely worth every penny Kaiba would spend on a new dress. She smiled sweetly at him. "You want me to sing for your expo?"

"I literally _just _said that," Kaiba sighed, rubbing his temples.

She flung her arms around him, hugging him and shifting her body so that she was sitting on his lap and could, therefore, hug him as tight as humanly possible. She pulled back, still smiling. "I'm so happy. You really like my singing?"

"Well, that café hasn't fired you yet so I suppose you are sufficient enough for the expo," Kaiba said, but Kisara just decided to take that as a yes. While Kaiba was a tad bit nicer, he still did not hand out compliments very easily. Throwing in a sarcastic remark was his way of saying he cared and Kisara was thrilled. "Is three days enough to prepare?"

"Yes! You're wonderful! Thank you so much!" she squealed, clapping her hands together. She leaned down and kissed him brushing the brown locks from his face as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Kisara began to move her lips down his neck, gently kissing the sensitive flesh and Kaiba's internal alarms started blaring.

"Let's go find you a dress before the shops close," he said immediately, gently pushing her off him before he allowed himself to be tempted. Those three seconds felt _way _too good for his liking.

"Okay," she said with a giggle, swinging herself off his lap and gathering her bag. She began dancing and singing a theme song for the day – which was basically repeating 'It's a shopping day today!' – and following Kaiba out of the penthouse doing her little jig. Kaiba sometimes hated that even when she was being stupid as hell, she was still the single cutest person on the face of the earth.

He drove them to one of the boutiques at the trade center, and Kaiba could see her eyes sparkling as she entered, surrounded by beautiful dresses. "Good evening, Kaiba-_sama_," the workers greeted.

"We're here for a dress," Kaiba said, gesturing to Kisara.

"Wait," she said, holding her hands up to the young CEO. "Are you buying me a dress?"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes slightly. "I just said that five seconds ago, Kisara. Do you still not listen when I talk?"

She laughed. "No, I was just asking. Can we go splitzies on it?"

"No, we most certainly cannot," Kaiba told her. "I will be paying for it. Now go and choose one."

"Well, I want to buy it," she insisted. "So that you don't know what it is."

"What are you talking about?" Kaiba sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"I want it to be a surprise. You surprised me with letting me sing at your expo, I'll surprise you with an awesome dress."

"You barely have the money to pay for anything, ever," Kaiba sighed. "I already said I would be buying you a dress. If you do not wish for me to see it, then I shall not look. Alright?"

"Hmmm," she said, squinting her eyes at him. "Promise?"

He sighed. "Yes, I promise. Now will you hurry up? I'd like to eat dinner some time today."

She laughed. "Okay," she said, and then called over one of the workers. "Make sure he doesn't peek, okay?"

Kaiba glared at the worker coming towards him. "Take my word or I'll have you fired. I do not need to be babysat."

Kisara laughed from somewhere in the shop. "Stop being so mean."

"Stop being retarded."

"I'm not," she laughed, sounding like she was taking several dresses from the racks. "I'm gonna go try them on," she told one of the employees, who followed her into the dressing room.

After some time, Kisara emerged with a black dry cleaner bag and headed to the cash register. "Congratulations," Kaiba told her dryly. "I am now five thousand years old."

She giggled and pushed him playfully. "I didn't take that long."

"I waited for an hour."

"That's not long!" she said.

"Is that the dress you want?" Kaiba asked, holding his hand out. She pulled away, hugging the bag and Kaiba sighed. "The _tag_. Give me the _tag_ so I can pay for it and we may eat dinner."

She dug out the piece of paper from her pocket and hesitated for a moment. "Can we please split for it?" she asked again, not giving him the tag. "It's really expensive but I really love this dress. It's the cheapest one out of the ones I liked; I don't know why you had to come to such an expensive place. I want to help pay for it."

Kaiba snatched it away and handed it to the cashier without even looking at it. Kisara shut her eyes as the price came up on the register. Kaiba scoffed. "You wanted to split 450,000 yen? That's my pocket change, Kisara. Do not worry about it."

"B-but—"

He patted her gently on the head, his tone softening ever so slightly. "Don't worry about it," he said again, sliding his credit card over to the cashier. Kisara moved closer to him and slipped her hand in his, lacing their fingers together.

"Thank you, Seto," she said, leaning her head against his shoulder.

He swept the bag off the top of the counter and folded it over his arm so that he could hold hands with Kisara and carry the dress. It felt a little bulky and the young CEO prayed that she did not buy something she had seen on television for American proms. He would probably pop a blood vessel if he had spent 450,000 yen on a dress reminiscent of Cinderella's.

Kaiba glanced down at the woman at his side and she offered him a cute, sweet smile. Well, he supposed he didn't care as long as Kisara was happy.

* * *

><p>Kaiba shifted his suit jacket slightly. Kisara was taking an oddly large amount of time to get ready this evening; she was normally quite quick but she had started early and was <em>still <em>in the bathroom. They were at a penthouse in a five-star hotel down in Tokyo for the weekend.

Mokuba's tie was still undone and he was watching the Friday evening _anime_ while eating some crackers. The younger Kaiba was dressed in a deep green dress shirt under a a black vest and black slacks. Why Mokuba never wore jackets and preferred vests was completely beyond Kaiba.

"You look like a waiter," Kaiba told his younger brother, who laughed.

"You look like you're getting married."

Kaiba was clad in a white suit jacket over a black dress shirt and vest and black pants. His tie was a pearly white with a blue dragon snaking up it, the tie Kisara had bought him for his birthday. Kaiba scoffed. "You've obviously never been to a wedding."

"I bet Kisara looks super cute tonight," Mokuba said with a grin.

Rebecca scoffed. "As if," she sighed, rolling her eyes. The younger girl was dressed in a sleek emerald green halter dress, her blonde hair swooped up into a fancy bun with jeweled clips. Mokuba didn't even acknowledge that she had spoken. Even for Mokuba, Kaiba thought that was a bit odd, but he didn't know a thing about relationships, so he kept quiet.

The door opened and Kaiba glanced towards the bathroom. Kisara was dressed in a pearly white formal gown, the strapless neckline decorated in silver jewels. The pleated bodice hugged her curves and the front of the dress went down to her thighs and cascaded down her legs, falling to the floor in a slight train. The underside of the dress was the a light cerulean blue, and there were white fabric flowers on the front of the dress as well in a gradient of white to blue, pulling the color from the underside out. Her silver hair was curled over her shoulders and she was wearing the rose headband that Kaiba had bought her some time ago. Her heels were silver, but they were simple, only about three inches tall and didn't distract away from the dress. From her.

"Ta-da," she said, breaking the silence that filled the room. Kaiba was stunned into silence and Kisara looked down at herself, confused. "Does it not look okay?"

"You're beautiful," Kaiba heard himself say before he could stop himself and Kisara, Mokuba and Rebecca seemed surprised. Kisara smiled sweetly, actually seeming a little embarrassed. Oh _God, _she was cute.

"Thanks," she said, scooping her purse up from the couch. She had bought a blue clutch just for tonight to match her dress. As Mokuba and Rebecca turned to head to the door, Kaiba moved towards Kisara to kiss her lips gently. He turned and caught her hand in the motion, leading her towards the door where he stepped into his shoes and headed out.

Downstairs, there was a limousine waiting for them and the four piled into the vehicle, heading towards the Tokyo Dome.

"I'm nervous," Kisara admitted, wringing her hands together. "I've never performed for something so big and in front of so many people."

"You'll do fine," Kaiba assured her, taking her hand. "I wouldn't have asked you if I knew you were the type to crack under pressure. Don't prove me wrong."

Kisara smiled at his attempt to try and make her feel better. "Thanks."

The Tokyo Dome was already bustling with paparazzi as guests from all over the world entered the Tokyo Dome, as well as a few invited guests and those with enough luck and money to purchase tickets to enter the expo. The sky was a little dark and the air slightly humid, as though expecting rain, but it was still a rather clear evening. Kisara took a deep breath as the limousine door was opened, Mokuba left without waiting for Rebecca, the younger blonde needing to hustle to catch up to him.

"Are you ready? After we enter, you will be going backstage to prepare and I will need to stand around and look interested in other people," Kaiba said dryly, making Kisara laugh.

"I'll be back to rescue you after the opening," she said, stepping out of the limousine first, followed by Kaiba. He took her arm and started down the path towards the entrance of the dome. Kisara glanced around. "I feel like I'm famous," she said, the bright lights of the cameras flashing around her rather distracting.

"You are famous," Kaiba sighed. "You're my lead programmer, remember? Inventor of the newest multi-purpose gaming project my company is pushing out next month?"

"Oh yeah," she said with a sheepish grin. "It's crazy being famous."

"Get used to it," Kaiba told her as a matter of fact, and she just smiled. They entered the dome and he led her to the back of the main stage. An ivory grand piano was resting in the center of the largest stage in the dome for the opening and Kisara could feel her heart racing. Kaiba sighed and rubbed his temples. "I apologize, I have to leave and pretend like I care about whatever these people say to me. Why every single person in this dome thinks that I care about their thank-yous is completely beyond me. They just need to sit down and advertise their shit."

Kisara giggled. "I'll come find you after I perform. You're gonna watch, right?"

"Of course," Kaiba said, like this was supposed to be obvious. "The expo continues tomorrow as well. I want you to have a chance to enjoy the games other designers have brought, even if I think they are all pieces of shit, so you will not need to perform tomorrow night."

"Okay," she laughed, toptoeing to kiss him. "Now go out there and try not to be mean to everyone. I go on half an hour, so just wait for me."

Kaiba just grunted in response, but turned on his heels to let her prepare. Of course, upon walking around for some time, he did hear his name being called by Yugi. That tiny man seemed to always spot Kaiba no matter where he went.

"Yugi," Kaiba greeted flatly as Yugi and Anzu approached Kaiba.

"Thanks for the invite, this looks like a lot of fun," Yugi said with his characteristic bright smile.

"Yeah, this is my first time at something like this. I normally don't like games, but this looks really awesome, Kaiba," Anzu added. She was matching Yugi's red tie with a red cocktail dress. "Where's Kisara?"

"You'll see her soon," Kaiba told them. He had mailed out VIP invitations to Yugi's group and debated sending one to Jonouchi. He figured if that _make-inu _wanted to come then he would probably find his way in somehow, as Kaiba had invited Kujaku Mai. What an older woman like her saw in a hound like Jonouchi, Kaiba didn't understand.

"Oh," Anzu said, sounding a little confused. "Did she not come with you?"

"She did," Kaiba sighed. "She is elsewhere at the moment, however. You will be able to see her soon." Kaiba turned towards the stage as the dome lights in dimmed, the stage lighting up. Kisara was sitting at the piano with her hands on the keys. She took a deep breath, parted her lips, and pressed down with her fingers.

A sweet sound filled the air as her voice carried out through the entire dome, silencing everyone as every single person turned to stare in awe. Kaiba had expected this reaction, but he still did find her singing amazing. Although he would never flat-out tell her that, he figured that she knew already. Yugi and Anzu seemed wildly impressed as well, listening intently for the entire time Kisara was singing.

It was a short performance, but it was something that everyone would have burned in their memories. Kaiba thought that now more than ever, Kisara would have tons of men pouring over her. Otogi was right, in a way; Kisara was talented, smart, and beautiful, and it was natural that men would covet her affections.

For one of the first times, Kaiba felt like a lucky man to have been the one who had won that woman's love.

"I didn't know that she could sing like that," Yugi said in awe. "That was a really nice way to start things off, Kaiba. You asked her to perform tonight?"

Kaiba nodded once. "I did," he said. "Now if you will excuse me." He headed off towards backstage to meet up with Kisara but when he showed up, she was checking her phone, looking panicked. The performance had gone well, so he had to ask, "What happened?"

"I got a missed call from the hospital and they left me a message," she said, sounding frantic. Tears were welling in her eyes. "It's raining in the country and my parents got into a car accident. Mana is in the hospital."

"Let's go," Kaiba said with no pause, taking her hand and pulling her out. She followed, slightly stumbling with Kaiba's long, quick strides and her confusion as to what was happening.

"Where are we going?" she asked but Kaiba didn't stop to explain, exiting the Tokyo Dome. He was already on his phone.

"We can make it to your family's in half an hour with my jet," he said to her, and then turned his attention back to the phone, seeming to be calling the airport to prepare for the flight. Kisara paused, taking her hand back and stopping suddenly, causing Kaiba to look back.

"I couldn't possibly ask you to skip out on your expo for me," she said. "I'll get a taxi there."

"That will cost a lot of money," he told her. "And I don't want you to take the taxi for two hours alone. Your family is important to you. We will make it there faster if we take my jet."

Kisara was still hesitating. "Seto—"

"The expo runs the whole weekend, I don't care about missing one night," he said, sounding impatient. He started walking away, and glanced back, as she wasn't making a move to leave. "Will you hurry _up_?"

Kisara lifted her dress to walk a little faster after him. A billion thoughts were running through her head; she didn't know what to do or what to think, or how to act, but Kaiba kept a firm grip on her hand, keeping her on steady ground. One of the workers stopped Kaiba for a second.

"Where are you going, Kaiba-_sama_?" the worker asked, looking confused. "You are supposed to open the expo in five minutes."

"Tell Mokuba to do it," Kaiba said. "There has been an emergency and I may not return for the remainder of the evening. Now, _move_." The worker immediately stepped out of the way and Kaiba continued to the street, still on his phone about something. As a black car pulled up, Kaiba shut his phone. He pulled open the door for Kisara and she slid in first, Kaiba following.

"Isono-_san_," Kisara said with surprise upon seeing the driver.

"Get us to the airport where my jet is. Don't stop at any red lights," Kaiba said as Isono pulled away from the curb.

"Please stop at red lights. I don't want to be killed," Kisara pleaded. She turned to Kaiba, kissing him. "Thank you. Thank you so much, I don't even know how to repay you, Seto. I'm sorry that you have to miss your expo for me."

"It's fine," he assured her. "Isono, on the way back, make sure to have the plane stop in Domino. Have your family come to the expo for the rest of the weekend. I have already made arrangements for them to be picked up and I have arranged a room in our hotel in Tokyo for them to stay at."

Kisara smiled at Kaiba's generous offer and even Isono seemed a little confused. Kisara realized that was probably what Kaiba was doing on the phone, as Isono would be taking time to drive them to the airport."T-thank you, sir," he said, without questioning the young CEO at all. It was best not to do that in case Kaiba changed his mind.

"But don't forget that this expo is by invitation only, and if you breathe a word about me doing anyone favors—"

"Of course, Kaiba-_sama_," Isono answered, chuckling inwardly to himself. While Kaiba did seem to have his moments of kindness, Isono knew that there was no possible way he was _totally _changed yet; he still covered those acts of kindness with sarcasm. It fit him well.

At the airport, Kisara lifted her dress again to try and keep up with Kaiba's long strides. He swooped past the attendant and Kisara frowned at the stairs. She didn't want to get her new white dress dirty or torn so she carefully stepped up each one before making it into the plane. The hatch shut prompty behind her.

"Have you tried to call your father?" Kaiba asked as the plane started.

Kisara swallowed a lump in her throat. "Yeah, probably should have done that before take off."

Kaiba did his best not to look disappointed and roll his eyes and Kisara appreciated the effort. The young CEO even tried to lighten up conversation on the half an hour plane ride, trying to have her think about anything but her sister in the hospital. He wondered how severe it was, since the hospital did not try to contact her again. But he decided not to bring that up; even if injuries were minor, Kaiba knew that Kisara truly cared for her family and would want to be at their side.

A worker down in the countryside picked up Kaiba and Kisara from the airport, speedily taking them to the hospital. Upon crossing through the sliding doors in the small facility, the two of them received odd looks because of their rather fancy attire.

"Ryusei Mana's room," Kaiba demanded of the receptionist, who glanced at her computer.

"R-room 607," she said. She pulled out some papers from a drawer in the desk. "I'm sorry, but visitors need to fill out these forms—"

"Go ahead, I'll take care of this," Kaiba told Kisara, nodding towards the elevator. Kisara hurried to the sliding doors and slipped in before they shut. She threw herself out of the sixth floor elevator and shot cursory glances at all the door numbers as she swept by. 604, 605, 606…

"Mana," she breathed, shoving her sister's door open with a bang.

But to Kisara's surprise, Mana was just sitting in her bed, playing the adjustment remote in one hand and eating a stick of cheese with the other. Her mother was reading a book and her father was watching the Kaiba Corp Expo coverage on the television mounted on the ceiling.

"_What _are you wearing?" Mana asked, raising an eyebrow. Kisara glanced at her sister to see that Mana's arm was just in a sling.

"I got a call from the hospital, they said…you—_TOU-SAN_!" Kisara cried, stamping her foot at her father. She realized that the voice on the phone was a man's voice, and was most likely her father trying to disguise his voice over the hospital room phone. This was just like her father to play something like this.

Takeshi shrugged. "What? I thought you were just going to call us or something! I didn't know you were going to come down here!" he said, holding his hands up.

Kaiba entered the room then, holding a small bouquet of flowers from the store downstairs, and also seemed confused at the current situation. "I thought Mana was in the hospital," he said to Kisara.

"I am in the hospital," Mana piped but she went ignored.

" _Tou-san_," Kisara mumbled, rubbing her temples. "I thought this was serious! You're the worst!"

Takeshi pointed at the television. "Aren't you supposed to be at the expo, Kaiba?"

Kisara didn't give Kaiba the chance to answer. "That wasn't funny, _Tou-san_. I was really worried about Mana, and you made Seto leave his expo for me to come here! You could have just told me that she just broke her arm!"

"But Mana said—"

"Hey, hey, I didn't say anything! Don't try to blame me, _Tou-san_!" Mana said, holding up her good hand. "And I did break my arm but I have to just see my MRI results later because I kinda blacked out an they just wanted to check to make sure everything's still good with my brain so that I can beat Kaiba in chess later."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes at that, and Mana just laughed.

Kisara turned to Kaiba, looking upset. "I'm sorry, if I had known that my dad was just being stupid then—"

"It's better that you came even though it was nothing serious," Kaiba said. "It's fine, I already said I don't care about missing one day."

"Oh, yeah, I saw your perform, Kisara," Mana said with a smile. "It was really good!"

"Thanks," Kisara said, sounding a little exhausted.

"Also, I hope those are for me," Mana said, pointing at the arrangments of flowers that Kaiba was holding. She held out her good arm, reaching for it. "I love flowers."

Kaiba handed the flowers to Kisara and Mana pouted. "You don't need them. She performed excellently tonight so they are for her." Takeshi and Kumiko laughed while Mana blew the hair from her face.

A man in a white coat entered the room, seeming surprised that Kisara and Kaiba were here. He spoke to Kisara's parents. "Ah, well, I just dropped in to let you know that everything is clear. There's no evidence of brain damage; just keep that cast on your arm on for about six weeks and you should be fine."

"Great," Mana said with a grin. "Thanks."

The man left without another word, seeming busy. Kisara sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers. Kaiba turned to her mother. "How is your car?"

Kumiko laughed slightly. "Not drivable. We were going to call a taxi home."

"How far is your house from here?" Kaiba asked.

"Not very far, maybe about fifteen minutes," Kumiko answered, sounding confused. "Why?"

"My driver will take you back. It will be pointless to head back to Tokyo tonight, as there are only a few hours left, but tomorrow, you will all accompany Kisara and I back to the Tokyo Dome for the Kaiba Corporations Expo," Kaiba said, surprising Kisara. "We will need to make a stop in Domino on the way back, however, as my colleague's family will be waiting to attend the expo as well."

Mana, Takeshi, and Kumiko exchanged glances as Kaiba made a move to leave. "Well?"

"Y-yeah, okay, let's go," Mana said, swinging her legs off the side of the bed.

"We have to pay for everything at the front first," Kumiko reminded her husband as they filed out of the room. "I wonder how much all of this is going to cost, they used the MRI machine."

"I took care of everything," Kaiba said, pressing the button on the elevator. Kisara's family was thoroughly surprised. Even though they had known Kaiba for a few months, they did know that the CEO did not dole out favors, but he seemed to be feeling extra generous tonight. "I thought that it was serious, as they did list the MRI on the charges, but it is fine as long as there is no permanent damage."

"Seto," Kisara said, taking his hand. "Thank you so much, I can't even begin to express how much this means to me and my family."

"It's fine," he told her. He did not tell her that for the first time, it actually felt good to do things for others. He had all of this money and all of this power and before, he used to use it only for himself and selfish purposes. But after meeting Kisara and getting to know her family, he learned that there were other places that money could be invested, and that it was _Kaiba's _money and power that could make a difference in the lives of others. He always said that it was 'fine' and that was the truth; he actually _liked _helping others, especially Kisara. He also felt indebted to Isono, who had stuck by him as his right-hand for over a decade. It was finally time to pay back the people who were important to him.

"That's a really nice dress, Kisara," Mana said, poking her sister's back, where the corset was laced. "Are you renting it? How much was it?"

"450,000 yen," Kaiba answered as they piled into the car. Mana's eyes widened at the price and she took her finger back as though afraid of damaging it.

"Uh, okay, I don't think I can even go to the expo, I don't have a dress that nice," Mana said.

"It's fine, just wear whatever you want," Kaiba sighed. "Kisara will not be wearing this dress tomorrow as tomorrow will be her turn to explore the rest of the expo with you, so it matters not what you wear, as long as it is decent."

"Okaaaaay," Mana said, sounding skeptical. "Thanks for inviting us, Kaiba. I'll be sure to give you a chance next time we play chess."

"We play every other weekend that I see you. I beat you every time. You don't have to give me anymore 'chances'," Kaiba said sarcastically, and Kisara laughed.

"Kaiba-_san_, why don't you and Kisara just stay the night instead of staying at a hotel?" Kumiko offered. "We can leave first thing tomorrow."

Kisara looked up at Kaiba hopefully. "Sure," he said. "Thank you."

Upon reaching her old family house, Kisara changed out of the dress, smoothing down a plain V-neck over her slender figure. She patted her belly as she sat next to Kaiba on the couch. "It's scary being in a dress that expensive," she said. Kaiba had changed into some of her brother's old clothes, as those fit a little better than her father's.

"Did you want a different dress? It was under my assumption that you liked that dress," Kaiba said, sounding a little confused and Kisara held up her hands.

"Oh, no, that wasn't what I was trying to say at all! I absolutely adore the dress and I would wear it to every single formal event for the rest of my life. I'm just afraid of damaging it is all," she said, laughing.

Kisara was happy that Kaiba really didn't seem to care that he was missing a night of his expo to be here with her family. He played another game of chess with Mana, and talked with her parents, not once mentioning the expo. She knew that it was important, as Kaiba Corporations gained a lot of partners through it, but she was happy that he did enjoy being here with her as well.

* * *

><p>In the morning, Kisara's family gathered in the living room. Mana had struggled into a cocktail dress she had worn for the National Chess Championships awards when she had won first place, it was a simple light pink strapless dress with a pastel blue ribbon around the waist. Kisara's mother was in a deep blue dress with sleeves down to her elbows and her father was dressed in a blazer and slacks. He was also wearing a top hat.<p>

Kisara sighed. "_Tou-san_, what in the _world_ are you wearing?"

"You don't like my hat?" he asked, pointing at it. Kisara and Mana shook their head.

"You look like a magician, _Tou-san_. Leave that stuff up to _aniki _in Vegas," Mana said, reaching to take the hat off her father's head. Her hand was met with a light swat.

"I'm gonna wear the hat," he told Kaiba, who looked completely neutral and didn't say a word to Takeshi about his choice of attire.

"Let's go, then," Kaiba said, sitting up and leading the way out of the house. He picked up one of the duffel bags by the door and assisted in lifting the rest of the bags into the car before driving off towards the airport.

Upon seeing the jet, Mana spread out her good arm, doing a little dance as she sang to herself, "Feelin' so fly like a G6, like a G6," and Kisara laughed while Kaiba rolled his eyes. Mana quickened her steps as to catch up with Kaiba and Kisara and wiggled her eyebrows. "By the way, you should introduce me to Mokuba."

Kisara snorted back laughter at her sister's straight-forwardness and Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I am fairly certain that my younger brother has a girlfriend," he told Mana. "She's a blonde brat but he seems to like her."

"He'd like me more," she said with a grin and Kisara laughed some more.

"Oh, you'd be a much better match for Mokuba-_san_ than Rebecca," she said, tousling her sister's hair. "Let's hook it up, Seto!"

"I'm definitely not about to mess with Mokuba's relationship," he said, shaking his head.

"Oh, you're no fun," Mana teased, shoving Kaiba playfully to let him know that she was joking. "Ah, oh well, it was worth a try. I always thought he was cute, even if I haven't seen the kid recently. We're like the same age, I remember seeing him at Battle City, the Battle City Commissioner? He was so adorable!"

Kaiba merely scoffed in response as the sisters shared a little laugh. They piled onto the jet and the hatch closed behind them. "Ooh, can I grab some snacks?" Kisara asked, standing up for a moment to head to the back of the jet where the attendant kept an arrangement of food.

Mana stared straight at Kaiba, widening her blue eyes. "What?" the CEO snapped, disliking being scrutinized.

"You really like _aneki_, huh?" she asked gently, smiling a little. Kaiba turned his gaze to the window, not really wanting to answer this question to Mana. He could tell that Mana and Kisara were rather close and he didn't want to be embarrassed. "I can tell, you know. Why don't you just tell her? I know you might not think it's a big deal to say those words but it'd mean a lot to her."

"I can't," Kaiba said simply. "She knows that."

Mana laughed a little, waving him off. "I figured you'd say something like that. Just—I really like you. Not like, in _that _way, but for _aneki_. She worked really hard to get to where she is and even though I'm her younger sister, and we aren't related by blood, I look out for Kisara. Just…please don't make her sad, Kaiba."

"I won't," Kaiba said immediately. "You have my word."

Mana grinned widely. "Great!"

"What's great is these soybeans," Kisara said, coming back holding a tray of them. She popped one into her mouth. "You bought these for me, huh?"

"Not everything I do is for you," Kaiba said, half lying.

Kisara seemed to know this and just giggled, swatting his shoulder. She offered him some soybeans, to which he declined, but Mana took a handful when she was offered. "Oh, man, I love soybeans," she said, going through the tiny vegetables with speed comparable to that of Kisara.

The jet took off, with Kisara's mother and father enjoying the sights as the passed over the countryside. Isono was with them as well and Mana tried her hand at talking to Kaiba's right hand man and trying to challenge him to a game of chess. They touched down in Domino for a moment, where Isono's family was waiting.

"Kisa-_san_," Akira greeted, grinning at her.

"Hi, sweetie," she greeted, ruffling his hair as he giggled and tried to get her to stop by swatting at her. She pulled his hair upwards, making it stick up in all directions. "Ooh, now you're a saiyan like Goku!"

Akira made a fighting pose and pretended to shoot an energy beam at Kisara. "_Kamehamehaaaaaaa_!"

Kisara clutched her side and feigned being struck, throwing her head back as Akira just giggled. Isono and his wife smiled a bit; Kisara was incredibly good with children because of her high spirits. She picked him up in one swooping motion and helped buckle him in. "Ready to go play games?"

Akira nodded vigorously. "Yeah!"

Kisara jabbed a thumb at Kaiba. "This is Seto, you should say thank you for having him fly you out on his private G6 jet!"

"Thank you for flying me out on your private G6 jet!" Akira repeated and Kisara turned to Kaiba with a grin. The CEO just shook his head, but found Kisara's ability to handle children admirable. Kaiba himself was not a people-person, and he was not a kids-person either; therefore it was extremely attractive that Kisara was.

Kaiba had never seen his jet with this many people but he didn't really care. The person that meant the most to him was sitting beside him and he planned to keep it that way for as long as she would want to stay. He couldn't help but think about Mana's words, however. Kaiba always thought that actions were enough and that his actions appropriately displayed his feelings for Kisara. He didn't even really understand the whole concept behind _feelings_, but he acted on them as best as he could. Would it really change things if he flat out told Kisara what he was thinking?

Kaiba couldn't do it. How many times had he wanted to say something to her, but he just _couldn't_? He lost count of all the missed opportunities and he didn't want to make a mistake and then lose her completely. Keeping the dynamic of their relationship the way it was right now was the easiest. He would do it that way until Kisara said that it bothered her, and then he would deal with it when the time came.

"Make sure _Tou-san_ doesn't get nuts," Mana told Kisara as she headed into the Tokyo Dome by herself.

"Where are you going?" Kisara asked, raising an eyebrow at her sister.

"Nowhere important," Mana said with a smile that Kisara knew too well. The silver haired woman just shook her head and shooed her sister away as Kaiba appeared.

"Where is she going?" Kaiba asked Kisara, seeming to have known that expression as well. He knew that she was not stupid enough to cause trouble at such an event, but Kaiba still had to ask.

"Dunno," Kisara answered with a shrug, and Kaiba rolled his eyes as Takeshi strolled down the pathway in front of them, tipping his hat off to paparazzi as though he were born for this. Kisara sighed and Kaiba was mildly amused again; Kisara was rather playful but even her quirky personality could be outshined by her father.

Inside, Mana couldn't even believe it was real. The Tokyo Dome was packed with the latest technology and gadgets, as well as rather wealthy, famous people. Kaiba really knew how to throw a party. Mana decided to try out one of the latest first-person shooter games; she played in online leagues and her friends around the world were talking of its release.

"May I?" she asked the vendor, joining a game. It was a new type of virtual reality, where neuro activity was tracked and put on screen as movement and camera rotations. Her nape was taped with three tiny pads she wouldn't have even known was there if the worker hadn't placed them on her. With a flick or twist of her wrist, she was able to change weapons or fire; it was a control-less new FPS game, but Mana wasn't sure how she felt about it yet.

"I've been waiting literally two days to try this out," she heard a voice say and her eyes flicked to the seat next to her. A lean young man in the chair had the same tiny blue pads placed on his neck and a pad on his right wrist as well. His raven hair was slightly tousled, but it was stylish in a teenage-boyish kind of way. He adjusted his vest briefly and grinned at Mana. "Mind if I play?"

"I'm gonna kill you," was Mana's first reaction and she inwardly slapped herself across the face for such a vulgar statement to a stranger, but the man just laughed.

"I'm pretty good at games," he assured her. "I'm sure I'll be the one doing the killing."

"We'll see, pretty pants," Mana said and she literally wanted to punch herself in the gut for saying something like that. But he didn't seem to care, laughing as the game engaged. Mana thought that he was just another gamer that thought he was all that and a bag of chips, but Mana was thoroughly impressed that his skills actually matched up with his talk. His reaction time was fast and so they were fairly matched on all points. It came down to the last kill.

"No screen looking," Mana warned her challenger, who laughed.

"Wouldn't need to screen look to kill you," he shot back playfully, but was answered with a headshot that cost him the game. Mana pumped her fist and cheered.

"Fuck, yeah!" she said, holding up a V for Victory before taking off all the pads and thanking the vendor. She grinned at her challenger. "You're not that bad. What was your name again? I like to know the names of all the kids I conquer to add them to my cry-baby bitch-list."

He seemed surprised that she didn't know his name, but then smiled warmly. "Kaiba Mokuba."

Mana froze. He looked so different than how he did all those years ago that she didn't even recognize him. He had cut that long crazy hair of his and dressed in crisp vests. Holy _shit_, he was cute. He wasn't yet mature looking like his brother; Mokuba did have that boyish charm and Mana felt like hanging herself. "Shit. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disrespect—"

Mokuba laughed, waving her off. "Nah, it's okay. I don't care about that stuff as much as my brother does. I never got your name, though."

"Mana," she said, still shitting bricks.

Mokuba held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mana. Wanna go play more games? It's 0-1 right now and I'm not a big fan of losing; _Nii-sama _and I share that in common."

"What's in it for me?" Mana asked, stepping up her confidence. This was what she came here for; to meet Mokuba. She wondered where his girlfriend was.

"Best three out of five and the winner gets ice cream," Mokuba answered, grinning. "The food here's top of the line shit, so it's guaranteed to be worth your time."

"Five out of seven and we have a deal," Mana said, holding her hand out. Mokuba shook it with a grin and they set off to play more video games. It seemed like an easy task, but they were evenly matched in every kind of game they tried; sports, RPG, arcade fighting, every genre that Kaiba Corp Expo had to offer was rather even. They even shared dinner together in between and talked for a bit.

Mana and Mokuba were both at four points by the end of the night and decided to have a rematch at that shooting game again, where Mana dominated once again. She laughed as Mokuba congratulated her with a high five. "You're really good at games. Probably the best girl I've ever played against," he said, heading over to the food section of the dome.

"Thanks. I get it from my brother and sister; they're great at games," Mana said with a smile. "You're not that bad either. Probably inherited from your big brother, huh?"

"My brother's more strategy-based," Mokuba said. "When he used to play games, he was more of a grinder, so he tends to play a lot more tactics games. I like straight-forward kinds of games with just a little bit of puzzles."

"Same," Mana laughed. "Favorite game?"

"Kingdom Hearts," Mokuba answered immediately. "I know it's a little dated, what with all the crap we have now, but it's a classic. I'm a huge fan of Disney, believe it or not. Yours?"

"Final Fantasy VII, duh," Mana said as though this were supposed to be obvious. Mokuba laughed.

"Yeah, that's my second favorite," he answered. He handed her a cone of ice cream and smiled.

Mana paused for a moment, reading the situation. "Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but I thought you had a girlfriend? Shouldn't you, um, be with her?"

Mokuba tilted his head, looking a little confused. "No, I don't have a girlfriend. Rebecca's pretty hesitant about that stuff and it's honestly getting a little unbearable. She's around all the time, like, she even came to the expo with me last night, but she's so afraid of commitment that it's ridiculous. She was supposed to stay the weekend with my brother and I but she dug out this morning; she was mad because I wasn't able to spend time with her because I had to run the demo. My brother left for an emergency and it wasn't like I could just leave the expo, too, to go running around trying stuff; it's my family business and I have to help when I can. It's so frustrating because we've been talking this whole time and feelings have been established, all that yadda but she's so stubborn and frankly, I've really had enough," he said, shaking his head. He paused for a moment and held his hands up. "Oh man, sorry I just said all of that stuff. I didn't mean to unload on you like that; I just had a lot of fun today, and it was really nice because Rebecca can be pretty uptight so it's kind of crazy. I don't really get to relax like this as much; I barely get to hang out with my friends because I'm always with her and it's just hard, is all."

"It's okay," Mana said with a smile. "Glad you had fun. I did, too. And, I, uh, hope things work out with Rebecca. That's Hopkins Rebecca, right? The genius programmer? You guys, ah, match, I guess."

"To be totally honest, I used to think so, too, but things aren't going too great. And actually," Mokuba said, running a hand through his hair. "This may seem pretty dickhead to Rebecca, and pretty, ah, like, straightforward and fast, I guess, but I'd really like to see you again, Mana. I would be totally honored if I could get your phone number or something…" he kind of trailed off, seeming shy and Mana swore that her heart exploded from the amount of cuteness radiating off the younger Kaiba.

"MANAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" cried a voice, shattering the moment and Mana was hugged from behind by a slender figure that tried to lift her off the ground several times, but failed. Mana pulled away before her ice cream could be ruined.

"Kisara," Mokuba said, sounding alarmed. He turned to Mana. "You know Kisara?"

"You know Mana?" Kisara asked Mokuba, releasing her sister. She seemed to piece things together and then smiled at Mokuba. "Mana's my sister."

"Where is Hopkins?" Kaiba asked, coming up behind Kisara. The CEO, however, went completely ignored.

"I swear I didn't know, I'm really sorry," Mokuba said to Kisara, holding his hands up and Mana's alarms started blaring. He was going to take back asking for her phone number because Kisara had ruined the moment! Oh, Kisara was going to _get it_.

"Sorry?" Kisara asked, looking slightly confused. "Sorry about what?"

Mokuba shifted his feet and shook his head, completely on the spot. "I-I don't know. Forget about it. I'm sorry, Kisara, Mana, too, I didn't—"

Kisara took out a piece of paper from her bag and wrote something down, handing it to Mokuba. "Call her later. She's gonna tell me about what a great day she had with you in about two seconds," Kisara said, flashing Mokuba a grin as Mana's face flushed with her sister's actions.

Mokuba looked down at the paper to see ten digits; Mana's phone number. He smiled at Kisara and then at Mana, tousling his hair sheepishly. "Great. I'll definitely give you a call. You're staying the weekend?"

"Uh, y-yeah," she said. "B-but I actually live in the country, and it's far so I mean—"

"I'm a Kaiba, I have a private jet," Mokuba said with a grin and Kaiba shook his head at his younger brother. "We can talk about all of that tomorrow. I don't need to go to the expo, so let's have lunch? And maybe dinner, too?"

"Okay," Mana said, a little shocked that all of this was happening. "I'm in the same hotel, so like, later, talking, plans, okay," she said as she was being dragged away by her giggling sister.

Kaiba stared at the two Ryusei's. He looked down at his brother. "When was it that I could go ignored?" he asked with a shake of his head.

Mokuba laughed, nodding towards the two girls. "Since them, I guess. It's a Ryusei thing. They're really special girls."

Kaiba sighed, not really seeming to care as he watched Mana trying not to freak out, but Kisara hopping and dancing and pelvic thrusting. He rolled his eyes. "They certainly are."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I feel like a retard because I forgot that Labor Day was a three day weekend everywhere in the US, so please excuse me, haha. Thanks for all the reads and reviews, someone buy my yugioh figures dammit! T_T Have a lovely weeeeekendddd~ **


	26. Chapter 26: A One Time Thing

"Goooood afternoon, Kaiba-boy!" greeted a voice and Kaiba glared at the man on the other side of the screen. "I thought you were never going to come back from your lunch break."

"What do you want, Pegasus?" he asked, keeping his face completely neutral. He hadn't been contacted by the CEO of Industrial Illusions for a long time and couldn't even predict what the man wanted now. Lunch with Kisara had been wonderful, as usual. She had talked about Mana and Mokuba going out on weekends and was extremely happy for them. It was infectious; Kaiba was actually more comfortable with Mokuba dating Mana instead of Rebecca, the latter of which seemed to have just stopped talking to Mokuba completely after seeing the younger Kaiba in magazine paparazzi shots of Kaiba Corp Expo with Mana.

"Tomorrow's the release for Kisa-_chan_'s new project," he said with a smile.

"I know when my own product is being released. Leave me alone if you only came to tell me about things I already know."

"Of course that's not all I came to talk about," Pegasus laughed. "Printing right about now—" Kaiba's printed turned on and started eating up paper and, indeed, printing "—is Kisa-_chan_'s change of employment forms. It's forms made for termination at Kaiba Corporation and forms made for her to come to California and be with me at Industrial Illusions. The date's set for tomorrow and everything, all ready and made for your convenience."

Kaiba glanced at the first form as it finished, a line at the bottom requiring her signature. "She won't sign that. I already told you that Kisara will be staying with me indefinitely."

"Oh, you use her first name now?" Pegasus said, clapping his hands together. "So, _cute_, Kaiba-boy. I've read all about the two of you in all sorts of magazines! Are you in love with her?"

"Absolutely not," Kaiba answered immediately. If Pegasus found out that Kaiba did harbor raw, real feelings for Kisara, there was no telling what he could do. "She and I are strictly colleagues."

Pegasus pouted. "That's too bad. She seems so happy."

"Of course," Kaiba said as though this were supposed to be obvious. "If you believe that I am incapable of lying to a woman to make her feel cared for then you are mistaken. The use of a person's first name communicates a level of closeness; that is why I use it. And I can assure you that even if I give her these forms tomorrow, she will not sign them because she wants to stay here with me."

Pegasus raised his eyebrows. "Oh, you're the worst, Kaiba-boy! You're telling me that you lied to Kisa-_chan _this whole time?"

"She's a genius programmer. Why would I not want to keep her around? She may be a genius, but she is also a woman, and women are easily swayed upon believing that they are cared for. And I will continue to make her believe as such until the day I die, because that is the only way I would ever hand her over to you; over my dead body."

"You call me the evil one, Kaiba-boy, but really, you're the one that's being a complete monster to Kisa-_chan_," he said with a pout.

"And even if you call her right at this moment to tattle on me, it won't matter because she will always defend me and come to my side; she even said so herself. You have nothing, Pegasus, so give it up. Kisara will stay in Japan with me," Kaiba said.

Pegasus sighed. "I was hoping that you would have changed your mind, but you're still such a hopeless cause. It's a little disappointing; from all those cute magazines, I thought you actually loved her."

Kaiba scoffed, glaring at Pegasus. "What a foolish thing for you to believe."

"Seems so," Pegasus said and then shrugged. "Well, whatever, then. I'll find another way to have her come here, hm? Take a look at those papers, Kaiba-boy, and have a lovely day."

With a tiny crack, Pegasus was gone. Kaiba rubbed his temples. God, he felt like such a bastard. Even though everything he had just said was a complete lie, he couldn't help but feel grimy, like he had lied to Kisara, too. None of it was true. He did care for Kisara so much that he needed to say those things to protect her. Kaiba was afraid of what would happen if Pegasus knew for a fact that Kisara was the most important person in Kaiba Seto's life. He wanted to keep her safe.

After tucking the papers into a folder without as much of a glance, he headed downstairs and pushed into the programmer's department, where Kisara was busy working at her desk. He needed to see her right now. She brushed her hair back upon seeing him and flashed him his favorite smile in the universe. "Hi," she said, stifling a yawn. She laughed. "Sorry, I'm so tired."

"It's almost over," Kaiba assured her. "Three more hours."

She nodded with a sleepy smile. "You're right. Are you coming to the party tonight?"

The programming department had pitched money in with the MIS department and rented a ballroom for a small celebration of completing the long project. There was another party tomorrow night for the entire company, but the programmers had wanted a separate pre-party, even if it was on a Thursday night, which Kisara thought was cute.

"If you are attending, then yes, I suppose," he said and Kisara grinned.

"Awesome. It'll be awesome. Super, super awesome," she said, and Kaiba shook his head at her overuse of the adjective.

"I'll take you home to nap," Kaiba said, standing up and patting her head. "Then we can go to the party. I hate parties."

Kisara actually laughed at that one, waving him off. "Okay. See you in a bit, then."

Kaiba nodded and swept out of the room, knowing that the rest of the programmers were probably still gossiping about them. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he made his way back up to his office. Two seconds. That was all he needed to affirm his feelings; at this point in their 'relationship' he knew that he was too far deep in these emotions to ever be able to let her go, but he had known that a long time ago. Perhaps it was going to soon be time to let her know that as well.

Five o'clock couldn't come any sooner and Kisara dragged herself into his office promptly. Already used to hugs from the frequent times she doled them out, Kaiba allowed himself to embrace her as she tried to make her way over to him. She seemed surprised by his actions but hugged back gently.

"Good work," he told her, patting her head. "And all you have to do tomorrow is supervise the release and then we have the weekend to recooperate."

"Sounds good," Kisara sighed into his chest. She released him and held out her hand for him to hold. It was reflex by now; Kaiba and Kisara left the building hand in hand. "I'm craving curry. But they're serving pupus at the party, so eat curry tomorrow," she said with a smile and she took Kaiba's lack of response as a yes, and squeezed his hand.

At the penthouse, Kisara dragged herself in only to see her sister perched on the couch with Mokuba. Mana grinned and waved enthusiastically. "What're you doing here? Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Teacher's work day," Mana answered. "And Mokuba flew me out because he can't wait to get his ass kicked in your new video game tomorrow, _aneki_."

Mokuba scoffed, shaking his head. "She meant that I can't wait to own her and get even from the expo."

Kisara shook her head with a sigh. She was certain that her sister and Mokuba were a much better match than that hotheaded Hopkins but at the same time she couldn't help but feel bad for the poor girl. Mokuba was certainly a lot more of a lady's man than he seemed, but it was actually a little amusing. He seemed to genuinely like Mana and probably knew that if he did anything to hurt Kisara's sister, he would be answering to Kisara.

"I'm gonna go to sleep," Kisara told Kaiba as she moved past him towards his room. "Wake me up in like, two hours so we can get ready for the party. Don't make us miss it, okay?"

Kaiba grunted in response and Kisara closed the door to the room. Things had begun to get a lot harder than she thought. She and Kaiba had grown closer than she could ever hope for and she was so happy with the way things had been going. But she had a twisting feeling in her gut that something bad was going to happen soon.

She couldn't forget Pegasus's words. He hadn't contacted her since that time and she wondered how it was that he knew about her past life. She tried to shake the thoughts from her head but she was afraid; she was afraid for Kaiba and hoped that by staying by his side, she would be able to successfully protect him.

Kisara fell asleep and woke up when the sky was a deep blue, pushing out of Kaiba's room. The spicy smell of curry filled the air and she was surprised to see Kaiba in the kitchen, a slightly quizzical look on his face as he examined the back of a curry box. Kisara grinned as she plopped down into a barstool. "What's this?"

He looked up. "I was just about to wake you up," he said, and handed her the box. "I am not sure about the timing for curry, so taste it and tell me if it will suffice as it is."

"You made me dinner?" she asked, flashing him a sweet smile. "You're amazing, Seto. Thank you."

"Mokuba helped," Kaiba said curtly, turning around to fix something as Kisara just giggled. She came around to the kitchen and lifted a spoonful of curry to her lips before blowing on it and tasting it.

"This is good," she said, sounding a little surprised. He stomach rumbled and she clutched it with a sheepish smile. "Let's eat now, I'm so hungry."

"Fine," Kaiba said, taking out two bowls from a cabinet. He filled both of them with hot rice and handed one to Kisara.

"Ooh, ooh, I'm hungry, too!" Mana called from the couch.

Kaiba stared at her with a flat expression. "Well, that's unfortunate."

"Can I have some curry, too?" she asked with a grin.

Kaiba took the spoon from Kisara to fill his own bowl. "No."

Mana pouted. "Oh, well that's not nice." Kisara just giggled, sitting back down at the counter. Kaiba grabbed her a melon soda and a beer for himself, taking the barstool next to her. Mana just stared as the older Ryusei and older Kaiba began eating and talking about something as though she and Mokuba weren't there. "Wait, you're serious?"

Kaiba turned. "What?"

"You're really not going to give me curry?"

The young CEO scoffed and then turned his back to Mana. "I said no, didn't I?"

Mana over exaggerated a gasp of appall and Kisara just giggled, swatting Kaiba on the shoulder. Mokuba chuckled. "It's fine, Mana, let's go out to eat."

"Eeehh? You know I don't have money to eat out! I don't work, you know," she said, holding her hands up. "I'd much rather eat at home!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes at Mana's unwillingness to spend money. "I can tell that the two of you are related," he muttered to Kisara, who grinned.

"It's fine," Mokuba assured her, standing up and stretching his arms. "Let's let them eat together in peace, and we can go out and grab some food and get some ice cream and then I can kick your ass at the arcade."

Mana made a face at Mokuba. "I'm gonna make you pay for saying that," she teased, shoving him playfully. "Fiiiiiine, we can go. See you later, _aneki_, poopy-face."

Kisara waved and Kaiba rolled his eyes at Mana's name for him. The younger siblings gathered their things and left the house, saying something about not being back until late. "They're cute," Kisara said to Kaiba.

"I don't know who I hate more; Hopkins, or your sister," Kaiba responded blandly. "But the latter seems to make my brother happier than Hopkins did so I don't care. My brother is not foolish enough to toy with a person's feelings and I assure you that if his intentions with your sister are not pure, then I will personally deal with him."

Kisara smiled. "I don't think Mokuba-_san _would do that either. But thanks, Seto, for everything, really."

The older man didn't respond and the two of them ate in a comfortable silence. "I'll finish the dishes. Go and shower," Kaiba told her, and Kisara nodded, retreating into the bathroom. At the sink, Kaiba stood there with his hands under the warm water. Things had changed from nine months ago. He had become so accustomed to Kisara being around that he literally couldn't imagine one day that she was not with him. Sure, they had their time apart, but besides that, they were attached at the hip. And with that call from Pegasus today, it made Kaiba even uneasier. He had a churning feeling in the pit of his stomach and could only assume that it was soon going to be time for Kaiba to protect Kisara.

He headed back into his room after doing the dishes to wait for Kisara to get out of the shower. During these past nine months he had become so occupied with Kisara that he had nearly forgotten who he was. He opened his drawer and pulled out one of the first files he had done as CEO of Kaiba Corporations over ten years ago; he needed to remember who he was and why he existed before he could even really start to try and live alongside someone else.

The manila folder was old and musty, slightly discolored, but he opened it anyway, flipping through some of his first sales after revamping the company. Something slipped out of the folder, however, and he leaned down to pick it up, wondering what loose leaf he could have put into this particular folder.

It was a photograph. It was extremely old, with the edges slightly frayed and the colors faded, but it was a photograph – and one of him, nonetheless. It was a picture of his last day at the orphanage before he and Mokuba were officially adopted by Kaiba Gozaburo.

He heard the bathroom door open and swiftly slipped the photo into a new folder before sliding the old reports back into his drawers. Kisara emerged in a short, casual button up sapphire dress with the ends flaring out slightly around her thighs. "I do like blue," she said with a grin. "You can go and shower, we can leave after you're done."

"Fine," Kaiba said. He grabbed clothes and headed into the bathroom as Kisara plopped down on his bed. She hadn't even realized that she had fallen asleep until Kaiba came back out, dressed in a crisp white shirt, a black sport coat and slacks and a black skinny tie.

"Oh, sorry," she said, rubbing the sleep from the corners of her eyes. "I've been really exhausted lately."

"You do not need to attend the party tonight," Kaiba told her. "Even with a nap, you are still too tired to be out and about. In any case, there will be a bigger party tomorrow."

She waved him off with a little laugh. "No, it's okay. I need to show face; I am the lead programmer, so I kind of have to go. I don't know how you do it, going to all of these events and being a big CEO of a company while still having time to hang out with me and whatnot."

"I'm used to it," Kaiba told her simply, and she smiled sheepishly.

"Guess so, huh?" she sat up and picked her clutch from the bed. "Ready to go?"

"I hate parties," Kaiba said, but followed her out of the penthouse anyway. The heels she was in made her legs look fantastic tonight, and Kaiba honestly had to consciously force his eyes not to wander. What was it about her that made it so hard to concentrate?

"You know, after tomorrow, what's my job gonna be?" Kisara asked, sounding a little hesitant as Kaiba drove to the hotel.

Kaiba kept his eyes on the road. "What are you talking about?"

"Tomorrow the Mini-K is being released—"

"I still can't believe you managed to get it named that," he mumbled.

"—and then I mean, I won't be head of the project anymore, right? Since it'd be on the shelves. What would I do at work?"

"You're the lead programmer. You would lead the programming department," Kaiba said as though this were supposed to be the most obvious thing in the world. "Just because my company is not pushing out something that you designed does not mean that you are out of a job. There are still things that need to be done and in order to remain the top contender for video games and virtual reality products, we constantly need to be upgrading and discovering new things."

"I'd still get to work at Kaiba Corp in Japan, right? You wouldn't move me anywhere else?"

Kaiba shot her a glance out of the corner of his eye. "Why would you think I would do something like that?"

Kisara smiled and shook her head, shrugging her shoulders simultaneously. "I don't. I was just asking."

"We will have a meeting next week sometime to discuss your next task. Will that put your mind at ease?" Kaiba asked, turning his head to look at her now that they had pulled into the hotel.

She nodded. "Yeah, it would."

He didn't respond and slid out of his car as the valet opened the door for Kisara. She bowed politely before following Kaiba up the stairs. She wobbled a little at the top and Kaiba turned to catch her hand before she collapsed. He stared at her flatly. "You are so exhausted that you can barely stand. It is impossible for me to convince you to skip the entire party, so I will give you one hour before we're going back home, do you understand?"

"Yeah," she said, and they pushed open the doors to the ballroom hand in hand.

"Kisa-_chan_," Otogi greeted. He was standing around with Keiko and Izumi but Kaiba did not even flinch; he kept a firm grip on Kisara's hand.

"Hey," she greeted with a smile.

"Kaiba," Otogi greeted the CEO, who merely shot him a subtle glare without responding. Since the ryokan, Otogi had been keeping his distance from Kisara but Kaiba didn't believe for one second that Otogi had given up on winning over the silver haired woman. Kaiba still did not like him and for a few days in the past even struggled with deciding whether or not he hated Otogi more than Jonouchi.

Kaiba hated parties but they weren't so bad when Kisara was there. Even tired, she was still sociable and spoke to a lot of people, and seemed to have woken up a bit. Kaiba was even going to consider letting her stay past an hour, but at nine thirty, she squeezed his hand. "Did you want to head back?"

"You seem awake now. You may stay if you wish."

"I know you don't like parties," she said with a little laugh. "Let's go back."

Kaiba wouldn't argue there. "Fine," he said. "Go and say goodbye to everyone. I'll pick up the car, so be outside in five minutes."

"Okay," she said, waving for a bit before heading off to bid her co-workers goodbye.

"Heading out so soon?" Otogi asked, sounding disappointed.

"Yeah, I'm a little tired. I kind of just want to go home and hang out with Seto," she said with a smile.

"You guys are dating officially, then?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and looking mildly amused.

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that. We're just friends, is all."

"That's not what I heard from Jonouchi."

Kisara offered Otogi a polite smile. "Well, you know how they don't like each other. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Have fun for the rest of the party."

"Thanks, Kisa-_chan_," Otogi said without as much as another word about Kaiba and so the silver haired woman just said goodbye to Izumi and Keiko before meeting Kaiba out in the front. She slid into the passenger seat and Kaiba sped off before she even had time to fasten her seatbelt.

Mokuba and Mana weren't home when Kaiba and Kisara entered the house and Kisara undid her hair, running a hand through it. "They'll be back later," Kaiba told her, tossing off his sport coat and heading back into his room. "Did you want me to contact Mokuba and request for him to come home?"

"Nah, let them have fun," she said with a sigh, following Kaiba and collapsing into the bed. Kaiba loosened his tie, shut the door, and sat next to her. He wasn't planning on sleeping yet; just staying until she fell asleep again, but Kisara sat up, cupping his face in her hand. She turned him and kissed him deeply, lowering herself back down to the bed as she did so and, in turn, dragging Kaiba down as well.

He shifted his body so that he was on top of her, and swept her hair back with his hand as he continued to kiss her. Kisara's hands wrapped around him, tangling in his hair as she pulled him closer to her, trying to eliminate all space between them. Kaiba's tongue dragged across her bottom lip and Kisara allowed him entrance into her mouth, the two fighting for power. But she surrendered, and Kaiba plunged deeper into her mouth, exploring the inside of her cheek and the ridges of her teeth. Kaiba could feel that same fire bubbling in the pit of his stomach. This time, however, the fire burning within him could not be doused, and he could only succumb to it, lowering his face to her neck as she tilted her head back to allow him access to the sensitive flesh.

He could feel her breathing become shallow as he continued to kiss her neck, his hands unconsciously removing the buttons on her dress. Kisara's fingers were light and cold as they undid Kaiba's tie and the buttons on his shirt, his tie falling onto the sheets.

And then he pulled back suddenly, swallowing a lump in his throat as he tried to contain himself. He didn't even realize that he had been breathing hard until this moment and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We can't."

"What?" she asked, sounding confused and hurt at the same time. "Why?"

Kaiba didn't know how long he had paused. But he knew what he wanted to say: _because I don't want to hurt you_. However, what came out was, "Because things will become complicating."

The lights were dim but Kaiba could clearly see the look of disappointment from his answer on her face and a part of him wanted to take back what he just said. "One time thing," she choked out, placing her hands on his bare chest.

Kaiba shook his head. "You're tired and letting your exhaustion get the better of you. We _can't_."

"But I want to," she said quietly and Kaiba nearly caved in that moment of brief vulnerability. "I've _been _wanting to, Seto. Haven't you?"

Kisara didn't even fathom what she had just asked. Kaiba had been suppressing raw lust for months now; _of course _he wanted to do this with her. How long had it even been since Kaiba had been with a woman? _Too long_, but Kaiba didn't want to just be with any woman; he wanted to be with _Kisara_. That's what made it difficult; the thing he wanted, he couldn't have because he couldn't risk losing her over a whim and a lack of self-control.

"I do," he answered quietly. "But we can't. You _know _that we can't."

"Why not?" she asked, confused. "You and I care about each other, right? It would be okay."

Kaiba was fighting every urge in his body to take her right in this instant. "Kisara…"

"One time thing," she said again, a little firmer this time. "You always told me your actions would be one-time things and now it's my turn to give you the same promise."

"It's not that simple," he said quietly.

"It can be. You just have to make me the same promise," she told him. "One time thing. And then tomorrow, everything goes back to the way it was. I'm not the kind of person to make things complicated; you know that."

Kaiba struggled. "Okay," he said softly. He lowered himself again, entwining his fingers with hers. "One time. And you promise that things will not become complicating."

"Promise," she whispered, kissing him.

Clothes were shed until there was nothing between the two of them but heat. His fingers dragged across her skin, hot and cold like the metal of a new lighter, igniting the passion between the both of them. It was unlike anything Kaiba had ever experienced, his body was erupting in ecstasy in every place she touched – even the feel of her breath against his neck was intoxicating and he found himself drifting in and out of realizing what was happening. He stopped thinking, just allowed himself to be completely consumed in her as their limbs tangled and bodies became one.

By the end of it, he was breathing hard, a thin layer of sweat coating his entire body as he tugged the sheets over his waist. Kaiba struggled to catch his breath and could hear Kisara doing the same. Fireworks, that's what it was; exploding in his eyes and causing his entire body to tremble.

Kisara sat up, running a hand through her tangled hair as she wrapped the sheets around herself. "Seto, I have to tell you something before I lose the courage," she breathed, trying to find her voice.

Oh, shit. Oh, _shit_. Kaiba propped himself up quickly and opened his mouth to interrupt her. He couldn't let her—

"I love you."

Kaiba felt that one, right in his gut. It was like being slammed by a sledgehammer, but at the same time, hearing those words made his chest swell up with the most intense feeling of happiness he had ever experienced. Had he subconsciously wanted to hear her say that?

"N-no, it's more than that," she continued, and Kaiba could see her hands shaking. Was she—nervous? "I think that you and I are meant to be; I can feel it in my bones. I know you don't believe in fantasy and fate, Seto, but I do, and I really want to be with you in a real way. I care about you so much. I'm sure, though, that you already knew all of this but it's been bothering me; I-I needed to tell you myself before I lost the confidence. I know that the only person I want to wake up next to for the rest of my life is you, and, um, I don't know, if you feel the same way, even a little, then, can you say it?"

Kaiba swallowed a lump in his throat. "Kisara, I…" he paused for a long time, the tension in the room rising. Then, he sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose once again, defeated. "I can't."

Even in the dim lights, Kaiba could see Kisara's eyes become glossy with tears. He needed to turn his face away. He didn't want to see that. "N-not even if it's a one-time thing?"

"Especially not if it's a one-time thing."

Kisara just froze, not really knowing what to do or say, or how to act. What was she supposed to do? She clenched her jaw and waited, maybe he was just trying to muster up the courage like she was. They had shared themselves with each other; he had to feel _something _for her, right?

Kaiba sighed, shaking his head. "Kisara. You said – you _promised _– that you wouldn't make things complicated. You said this was a one-time thing."

Kisara swore that in that moment she could hear her own heart shatter like a glass menagerie crashing down on a marble tile floor. Empty. She felt completely and utterly hollowed out. Bearing her feelings out for Kaiba to receive that kind of response?

Kisara put a smile on a face, running a hand through her hair sheepishly. "Oh, yeah, forgot about that," she said with a little laugh as she forced back the waterworks. "My bad. Just, you know, thought I'd say it before I didn't get the chance to."

The young CEO sighed quietly, turning his eyes up to look at Kisara. She was always able to smile despite herself, and after everything that happened between them – the past nine months and tonight – Kaiba could only say one thing. "Sorry."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry, needed to keep the rating T but I was thinking of doing a more mature variation when I had time and offering to email it or something to people who want to read it/people who care. Which, speaking of time, I don't really have a lot of. So. Yeah. You know the drill, updates will be even slower, and I'm sorry but first midterms are comin' up and I've been doing a lot more drawing and figure study which is important for future careers, blah blah life story, anyway, thanks for reading and for the reviews and for bearing with me.**

**And thanks to lacekyoko for buying my YGO figures :) I'm still at the dorms and we don't have a post office on campus (ridiculous) soooo I'm gonna try and ask my friend to mail it on Saturday when she goes home for the weekend but I'll e-mail you about that. Sorry! **


	27. Chapter 27: The Power of Words

**A/N: Thanks for understanding my slow updates. Psychology midterm finished so posting this to celebrate. Thanks for the reads and reviews, I really appreciate them! **

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><p><em>A small silver haired girl grinned, hair falling into her face. "Congratulations," she squealed, clapping her hands. "You really are a genius, Seto!"<em>

_ The young brunette ran a hand through his hair at the compliment. Despite having won a chess match against the world champion, he still did find himself getting a bit flustered in front of Kisara. It'd been a few months since they had met and he had rescued her from those bullies but she had become quite close with both Seto and his younger brother Mokuba. "Thanks," he said, offering her a tiny smile._

_ "But that means you're moving away, isn't it?" she asked, her tone dropping ever so slightly. She was holding a photograph that they had taken earlier that day before Kaiba Gozaburo had come for his scheduled visits to impress the media._

_ Seto felt a pang in his chest. "I'm sorry, but I have to. I have to provide a better life for Moku-_chan _and myself and this was the only way."_

_ She giggled. "Don't be sorry for that, silly," she said, swatting his shoulder. "I'm so happy for you and Mokuba-_san_."_

_ "You'll be adopted, too, you know," he assured her. "And your family will be great. I'll, like, try to visit you and stuff. We'll meet again."_

_ Kisara smiled gently as though knowing that Seto didn't have a clue about what he was talking about. And she was right. He had an inkling that Kaiba Gozaburo was not the kind of man to let his adopted son visit a poor girl at the orphanage. Seto was officially the child of a billionaire. He didn't know a lot; he was still young, but he did know that he wanted to see Kisara again._

_ "Yeah," she said politely. "We'll see each other again."_

_ "No, I mean it," Seto insisted. Mokuba was busy packing what little things they had left. Gozaburo had to fill out papers and so that meant that Seto had a little time. "I promise. After I make a lot of money and become really successful, I promise that I'll come find you."_

_ She giggled again, waving him off. "Oh, you don't need to do that. I'm sure you'll be too awesome to even remember tiny folk like me."_

_ "Stop," Seto said, furrowing his brows. "Don't think so lowly of yourself. You're important to me and I will keep my word. I'd never forget you."_

_ Kisara smiled, seeming to appreciate his kind words. "Thanks, Seto. I'll work hard, too. And who knows? Maybe I'll be the one that finds you first."_

_ "Well, I'll be rich and famous, so it'll be easy to find me," he teased, and the two of them shared a little laugh._

_ "Seto," Mokuba called as Gozaburo appeared at the doorway, looking furious and impatient. It was probably not a good idea to get on his bad side now._

_ "You better get going," Kisara said. She handed him the picture and flashed him a sweet smile. "Don't forget me, okay?"_

_ "I won't," Seto promised. He turned to leave, but then whirled around again. "Before I lose the courage," he said, pausing for a bit. Kisara blinked a few times, looking confused. "Make sure that you don't forget me either, Kisara. I'll definitely come for you, no matter what. I'll come back and I'll protect you so that you'll never have to live this way again because, well, um, I love you."_

_ The little girl froze. When was the last time that she had heard someone say that to her? Even if he was a kid, Seto saying it meant absolutely everything to her. It was in that moment that she decided that no matter what, she would work as hard as she could so that she could be reunited with him. "I love you, too, Seto."_

_ The young boy smiled sheepishly and waved as he followed Mokuba and Kaiba Gozaburo out of the orphanage. He would find her, and then they'd be able to be together for real._

* * *

><p>Kaiba awoke from the sunlight streaming in through the windows. Dreams. He hadn't dreamt of his past for so long but when he did, they were vivid memories. He had tried so hard to forget everything from his past that he had even broken his promise to never forget Kisara. She was the only person in this world that he had said those words to.<p>

And now she was laying beside him, curled up in his sheets. It was almost surreal, her silver hair, fair skin, and crisp white sheets wrapped around her thin body. She was beautiful, even asleep. All of a sudden, her eyes burst open and he was met with a flash of blue that startled even him.

She giggled. "Surprise," she said with a smile. "I finally woke up before you. I was just waiting for the right moment to pounce."

But Kaiba wasn't mad. "What time is it?" he asked, his voice a little scratchy from sleep. She turned and picked up her phone from the nightstand, glancing at the digital clock.

"Seven fifteen," she said, placing the device back down. "We leave at like, eight thirty. I should go get ready first for once."

"My alarm goes off at seven forty five," he said. "We can sleep for half an hour more."

Kisara smiled, scooting closer to Kaiba to allow him to wrap his arms around her. He knew that was what she was going to do once he said that and successfully managed to have her in his arms before the day began. It felt good. This was why he had always tried to escape the bed before she woke up; to avoid feeling…happy with her, to avoid feeling too attached.

However, it was much, much too late for that.

But when Kaiba awoke again, he was alone. He propped himself up immediately, glancing left and right. It was the first time in months that he had woken up not to see that silver haired woman lying next to him and the feeling in his stomach was nauseating. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and slipped on some clothes before leaving his room.

A wave of relief washed over him when he saw that the bathroom door was closed and he heard the shower running. She had just gotten an early start, that's all. He moved into the kitchen and noticed Mokuba and Mana in the living room, already eating pancakes. The two younger siblings turned to look at Kaiba, Mana making a face at Kaiba's shirtless form.

"_Ohayou_," Mokuba greeted with a grin.

Kaiba grunted in response and was about to drop some bread in the toaster when he saw a plate of pancakes for him. He touched it lightly with his finger; they were still warm. Kisara had gotten up early to make him pancakes.

"Kisara's a pretty good cook," Mokuba said, smiling at his brother.

"She only knows how to make pancakes," Mana said with a laugh. "She needs a recipe for everything else otherwise it ends up being blackened goop."

Thinking back to the times they had cooked dinner together, Kaiba realized that this was true. He chose not to say anything though, starting on his breakfast. A part of him wondered if Mokuba and Mana had heard him and Kisara last night but that was probably going to be the most awkward conversation of the millennium and once again, he chose not to mention it.

The bathroom door opened and Kisara emerged, her hair still up in a towel. She was dressed in a plain white shirt and black gym shorts. She paused upon seeing Kaiba in the kitchen eating pancakes. Kaiba found that momentary stall a little odd, but then she offered him a smile. "Morning."

"Morning," Kaiba responded. That was normal, right?

"Oh, um, don't worry, I still have a clean suit for today, so I'll change into that while you're, uh, in the shower."

"Fine."

She moved into the kitchen and picked up her plate of pancakes, bringing it around to the counter to start eating. She grinned at Kaiba again as he finished his food, jabbing a thumb back at the bathroom. "Well, quick like a bunny! Today's a big day."

"I know that," Kaiba said curtly. He didn't like this. Normally he was the awkward one but today he felt like he was the normal one. "And don't tell me what to do."

Usually, Kisara would have laughed at that sort of comment, but today she looked a little taken aback by his harsh statement, smiling apologetically. "Sorry," she said, and turned her back to him as he swept into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. That feeling in his stomach had migrated to his chest, restricting his breathing. Had he made a mistake last night, allowing himself to succumb to his lust? He tried to shake the thoughts from his head as the water poured over him. No, she was just being silly; the awkward air would fade.

It didn't fade completely, but it certainly got a bit better. By the time they were in the car to drive Mokuba to school – Mana would be sitting in on his classes for lack of better things to do – she was dancing in the car, making the younger siblings chuckle and call her ridiculous.

Kaiba could only force himself to tighten his grip on the steering wheel. He felt like he was waiting. Did he expect her to wake up and tell him that she loved him again? Hearing those words last night changed him completely. She had promised not to make things complicating but she had. She had absolutely warped the dynamic between them by just saying _words _and it was in that moment that Kaiba realized how important words really were.

What had he said to her last night after she had confessed? _I can't _and _I'm sorry_. He had even scolded her for breaking her promise. Kaiba just wanted to shoot himself; he was the worst kind of human being. He knew that he was not perhaps the most affectionate person on the planet but was he really foolish to just assume that Kisara could read his mind and know that he did care for her?

In the car ride to Kaiba Corporations, Kisara gushed about how excited she was about the day, but Kaiba couldn't even think straight. Had he upset her last night? Why had she woken up so early? Kisara normally stayed out cold until the alarm clock rang; had she slept last night at all? She was already tired from last night, if she didn't sleep then that means that she would collapse today.

But she seemed fine. She hadn't had coffee or anything but she was still full of life. However, Kaiba could feel it. He was completely in sync with Kisara that he could feel her hesitation, like an annoying itch in the small of his back. She was being cautious, like she didn't even know who he was but trying to be friendly; like they were nothing more than acquaintances. Did that mean that she would leave him?

No. Kaiba knew her. He knew that she wouldn't do something like that, not over this. And if she did say something about it, then Kaiba needed to force himself to find his voice and stop her. He refused to throw away everything they shared for one night.

"Seto," Kisara said, the sound of his name catching his attention. She had walked him up to his office; he hadn't even noticed that they were standing outside of the doors in the hallway. She averted her eyes, looking at the ground. "I think…you and I need space between us."

Kaiba felt his entire body nearly shut down, finding it difficult to breathe, difficult to think. Kisara held up her hands when he didn't say anything and quickly added, "Not like, you know, we're in a relationship or anything, and it's not like I'm asking for a long time apart. But maybe, like, just today, for starters."

_For starters_? Would the distance between them grow if she asked for more time as days went by? Would she stop seeing him all together?

She turned her eyes away again. "I'm just…really confused about us right now. I need time to myself to think and to sort out my feelings and kind of just…regain my composure, I guess. I don't think I'm strong enough to do that when you and I are so close. I still want to spend the weekend off with you, but I just need to recuperate today. I'll be 100% tomorrow, I promise. Um, is that okay?"

_No. No, it's not okay! _"That's fine."

Once again, she seemed taken aback his straightforwardness, but then, again, offered him a smile. "Okay," she said, nodding as she picked her phone out as it started to ring. She checked it, and then turned it on silent. "That's the department. They need me downstairs."

_Don't leave yet. _"Okay."

"Okay," she said again, turning on her heels to leave. She paused for a moment and turned back to Kaiba. "God, I'm such an idiot," she mumbled to herself, and Kaiba could see her hands shaking again. She looked up at Kaiba again, hope lighting her blue eyes. "I meant it. Everything I said last night, I meant it, and I still mean it today and I'll mean it tomorrow and for the rest of my life. I know that you don't have time for me in that way, and maybe my feelings scare you, but if…you ever change your mind about it, then I would…really love to sit down and talk."

_Now. Now. Say it now, tell her now! _"Actually—"

Her phone went off again and Kisara glanced at it as the elevator doors dinged. Otogi stepped out, grinning at Kisara as he shut his phone. "Hey, come on, you. We still have things to finish up today."

"Okay, I'll meet you down there," she said, waving to Otogi as he circled back around to the stairs. She smiled apologetically at Kaiba. "I really have to go. I'll call you later this weekend, okay? Have a lovely day, Seto."

And with that, she pivoted on her heels and hurried downstairs, leaving Kaiba completely and utterly alone. The thing he always feared had slammed him in the face. He had made hundreds of mistakes with Kisara but he didn't want to lose her. She had always forgiven him and he had taken advantage of that, hadn't he?

A relationship. What was that even like? Kaiba had no idea how it felt to be in a relationship but for some odd reason, at the same time, he did know what it meant. It meant cooking dinner together, watching television on the couch, giving gifts to each other – it was being with Kisara. That was what a relationship was, right? Caring about someone so much that one could not imagine life without that person?

And Kaiba couldn't see himself without Kisara. He didn't want space between them; he wanted to gap between them to shrink, he wanted to be closer. She humbled him, made him feel like a normal person, and yet, no one had ever done that before. No one had made him feel special just by being completely normal.

This was it. Why hadn't he realized it sooner? He was _already _in a relationship with Kisara. She just wanted him to say it, didn't she? Was it really that simple? Would she come back to him if he just spoke _words_? He definitely did not want her to be upset on the release day and he knew exactly how to lift her spirits.

He snapped open his briefcase and grabbed a folder, and the next thing he knew, he was downstairs, his heart pounding so loud he wondered if everyone in the programming department could hear it.

He spotted Kisara by the door, getting ready to leave to supervise some of the releases, and stopped her. She seemed surprised, but remained professional, cordial, and polite. It pissed Kaiba off. "Hey_. _Did you need anything?"

Kaiba held out the folder. "You forgot something." But she didn't have time to grab it because in one swift motion, he leaned down and kissed her deeply, stealing her breath away. He felt her tense up and when they broke apart, the entire programming department looked shocked, trying to camoflague into the air so that they could witness this juicy gossip.

Kisara looked confused, shaking her head and shying away from him slightly. "Seto, I-I thought I asked for space," she said quietly.

"You did," he said. "And it turns out that I am not okay with that."

An expression of worry crossed her delicate features. "But why?"

"Because you and I are going to have dinner tonight. I think we have things to sit down and talk about."

Kisara seemed to realize what he was referring to, and the beginning of a sweet smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Really?" she breathed. "Really, Seto?"

"Yes," he said, and she smiled brightly. _So _embarrassing; Kaiba knew that he was not a romantic but perhaps his actions right now could be classified as such in a romantic novel or a movie. He would probably need to erase his dialogue from his mind forever. "Do not be upset on your release day. I will see you at five."

Kisara grinned and nodded. "Okay," she said. She took the folder from Kaiba's hands. "See you then." She stood up on her tiptoes and Kaiba closed the distance between them to kiss her lightly. He tried his best to ignore the looks from the rest of the programming department as he swept out of the floor, feeling horribly embarrassed and awkward, but knowing that was completely worth it.

Kisara opened the folder to see an old photograph. She smiled warmly, running a thumb over the worn out paper. It was the photo of them together on their last day, Kisara, Kaiba, and Mokuba. He had it all this time. She tucked the photo into her wallet and then smiled at her department. "Let's go."

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><p>Anxious. That was perhaps the word that best described Kaiba at the moment. Kisara had been out all day at different events around Domino and Kaiba didn't stop thinking about her once. It was nearly five, soon he would be taking her to dinner and saying those words she wanted him to hear.<p>

It was completely nerve wracking.

A few minutes after five, Kisara pushed open the door to his office, greeting him with a tired, but sweet smile. "Hey. Ready to go?"

Kaiba was both ready and not ready. But he stood up, making his way over to the door with his briefcase. Inside were still the papers from Pegasus and after Kaiba spoke with Kisara about this "relationship" business, he would also tell her about Pegasus's ridiculous idea. He figured that if they were going to be in a relationship, he might as well share this information with her. They would figure out what to do. Together.

"How were the events?" Kaiba asked, trying to see natural. He had been running possible dialogues in his mind all day and still hadn't settled on one.

"Great," she said, nodding. "Everyone was so excited about the Mini-K! All the stores had lines out the door, and oh, I am so grateful that you gave me this opportunity, Seto. I feel like everything I've done is finally paying off, you know?"

"I do," Kaiba answered honestly. "Good work."

She grinned, lifting her shoulder cutely. "Oh, and where are we going for dinner? I hope nowhere expensive!"

"No," Kaiba said. "So stop asking questions. You'll see when we get there."

She giggled, looping her arm through his. The drive was filled with Kisara's excitement as she gushed about different things that happened at the events all over town. Kaiba finally felt like all that thick, awkward air between them had finally disappeared and they really were back to the way things were.

Kisara hadn't made things complicating, had she? She had just made things easier. Kaiba pulled up in front of the restaurant and Kisara flashed him a sweet smile. "Tsuki's," she said. "Where we first met. Again, I mean."

"Hurry up," Kaiba responded, and Kisara laughed at his inability to handle romantic moments. She hopped from the car, catching up with him as he made his way towards the entrance. Moments. He was moments away from trying to turn his jumbled up feelings into words and moments away from being with Kisara officially.

They headed inside, and made their way over to their usual booth. Kaiba had realized that he wouldn't need a dialogue; he would just be honest with her. Yes, that was the best option. As nerve-racking as it was, it was honestly a bit exciting. However, that good feeling soon disappeared when he saw who was waiting for him in his booth. "Pegasus," he growled and Kisara even seemed surprised.

"Oh, Pegasus-_sama_," she greeted with a little bow.

"What are you doing here?" Kaiba said, keeping his voice low as to not yell.

The silver haired man looked confused for a moment. "Picking up my star, of course! I did say that the papers were due today, Kaiba-boy, or did you forget?"

Kisara titled her head slightly, baffled. "Papers?"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes at Pegasus and squeezed Kisara's hand as though to warn her not to press any farther. "Get out of here, Pegasus. I already told you—"

Pegasus interrupted him. "I decided to come here to pick Kisa-_chan _up myself, as you said yourself that you are strictly colleagues; I would only assume that you would not drive her to the airport."

"Airport?" Kisara said, sounding alarmed. "Seto, what's going on?"

"Aw, Kisa-_chan_, you are so cute," Pegasus swooned. "You use his first name, too? I didn't realize that you two were so close. Kaiba-boy told me otherwise, though, so I'm honestly a little confused about your relationship."

"We're not in a relationship," Kisara said. "But Seto and I have things to talk about tonight."

Pegasus clapped his hands together, seeming amused. "Speaking of things to talk about, Kisa-_chan_," he said, pulling something from his briefcase. "I thought that before you speak to Kaiba-boy about your odd relationship, you take a look at this."

He handed her his own Mini-K, and pressed play on some sort of video. Kaiba felt himself become sick, knowing exactly what it was.

_"Of course. If you believe that I am incapable of lying to a woman to make her feel cared for then you are mistaken. The use of a person's first name communicates a level of closeness; that is why I use it. And I can assure you that even if I give her these forms tomorrow, she will not sign them because she wants to stay here with me."_

Kisara watched in silence as Pegasus replayed his entire conversation with Kaiba from yesterday, including the little bits he said about women being 'easily swayed upon believing they are cared for' and how he would 'make Kisara believe' that until he died.

_ Pegasus sighed. "I was hoping that you would have changed your mind, but you're still such a hopeless cause. It's a little disappointing; from all those cute magazines, I thought you actually loved her."_

_ Kaiba scoffed, glaring at Pegasus. "What a foolish thing for you to believe."_

The screen went black and Kisara handed the Mini-K back to Pegasus, silent at first. Then she shook her head, running a hand through her hair. "This is crazy," she told Pegasus, sounding upset. "I know that you want me to come to San Francisco, but making these crazy fake videos of Seto trash talking me is absolutely out of control. Seto would never say those kinds of things."

Kaiba felt like his gut was being hollowed out with a thick, blunt object after hearing that. Even after she watched an entire video of Kaiba saying that he basically didn't give a shit about her and that he was using her and lied to her, she still defended him and immediately tried to accuse Pegasus of a bluff.

Kisara turned to Kaiba and he did not see one ounce of doubt in her eyes. She really believed that Pegasus had fabricated the entire video, didn't she? "Right, Seto?" she asked.

While it was true that Kaiba had said those things, those were certainly not his feelings. Those words did not display his feelings for Kisara; the words that truly did were still inside of him, as he didn't even have the chance to tell her yet. He knew that if he had told her that Pegasus was, indeed, making up that video, then she would believe him and put it behind her.

But to start a relationship from a lie? Kisara seemed a little bothered by the length of time that it was taking Kaiba to answer. "You promised," she said. "You'd never lie to me. But I know you. You'd never say those things about me. So just tell me that you didn't. I'll believe you."

Pegasus raised his eyebrows at this, and Kaiba knew that he needed to tell her the truth. "I did," he said quietly. "I did say those things. That video is not forged."

The look of complete hurt on Kisara's face as she pulled her hand away from him was the final blow, smashing into Kaiba's chest like a bullet train. Pegasus sat up now, adjusting his bag. "Well, there you have it, Kisa-_chan_. He was planning on giving you away tonight, you know."

"T-that's not true," she said, still trying to defend Kaiba. "We were supposed to talk about being together."

Pegasus laughed, shaking his head, but Kaiba spoke first. "We need to talk elsewhere, Kisara," he said quietly, not wanting to make a scene. He needed to remain completely calm. If Pegasus had even the inkling that Kaiba cared about Kisara, then there was no telling what he was going to do now.

"Why not right here? Show her what I have a feeling is in your briefcase, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus said, nodding at the metal briefcase in Kaiba's hand. The brunette tightened his grip on the handle. "Show her that my papers for her transfer are in there."

Kisara looked up at Kaiba in a pained disbelief. Kaiba opened his mouth to speak but Kisara interrupted him. "Please open your briefcase, Seto," she asked weakly. Kaiba had no choice but the slam the metal on the table and he snapped opened the clips to reveal a black folder.

Kisara picked it up and leafed through it, and Kaiba could have sworn that he felt his chest being ripped out and thrown onto the tile as tears started streaming down her face. She wiped them away with her forearm, trying to push them back and keep her emotions under control as she neatly placed the papers back into the folder and closed the briefcase quietly.

"Kisara, we need to talk elsewhere," Kaiba said again, reaching out to grab her hand but she shifted out of the way, wiping her eyes again. She looked up at Kaiba and it took everything in him not to reach out again and hug her. He had never once seen her cry, and after this moment, never, ever wanted to for as long as he lived.

"I trusted you," she said quietly. "I believed in you. And you were just planning to throw me away. How could you?" she asked, wiping away more tears. "T-that video was _yesterday_. And last night—" she broke off, looking away. "How _could_ you?"

Kaiba needed to get the situation back under control. "Kisara, will you just listen to me—"

"No," she said quietly, shaking her head. "I can't."

Pegasus put an arm around her and Kaiba wanted to tear the man's face off. "My poor Kisa-_chan_," he said, stroking her hair. "Let me personally drive you have home, hm? I won't even speak a word about your transfer; let's just get you away from this monster."

Without another word, Pegasus led towards the exit of the restaurant, passing her off to one of his men to take her to the car. He smiled at Kaiba as he stuffed his hands in his pocket to follow snidely. "Have a lovely day."


	28. Chapter 28: Silence

**A/N: More exams this week, posting this now before I don't have time later. Thanks again for reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it! I know I say that every chapter but I really am grateful; thanks for also understanding the slow updates due to exams and whatnot and not having time to write and blah blah blah okay have a lovely day~**

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><p>It was a long weekend. Kaiba had opened and shut his phone literally thousands of times, debating on whether or not to call her. No. Perhaps space between them was good; there was no use trying to talk to her when she was roused up and emotional, so Kaiba let her be for the weekend. He tried to get his mind off of her to let her cool down before trying to contact her.<p>

However, this task was absolutely impossible, as news of their alleged 'break up' was all over television and gossip channels, in the papers – everywhere Kaiba looked there was something written about him and Kisara and Pegasus. It was infuriating; it was adding fuel to the fire and Kaiba was outraged. Why the media couldn't keep out of his personal life was completely incomprehensible.

Mokuba, of course, was upset. He kept pestering Kaiba with questions and demanding his elder brother to answer them, to which Kaiba responded by slamming the door in his brother's face and locking himself in his room. He didn't have any answers. He knew that he had fucked up with Kisara and the only person that he knew he needed to be talking to about anything was Kisara herself.

Come Monday, he was ready to speak to her. She wasn't the type of woman to ditch out on work for personal reasons and so he expected her promptly at nine. Maybe she had calmed down and was a little more willing to listen to what he had to say.

"I can't work here," Kisara said at nine A.M. Monday morning. She kept her head down and spoke quietly, like she was afraid of Kaiba. She slid over a thin folder to him across his desk. "This is my two weeks, but it's really just a formality. I won't be coming in. I'm sure you understand."

Kaiba didn't move. He didn't take the folder, didn't say a word. He just sat there, completely still. Kisara continued speaking, still looking at the groun as though it were the most interesting fucking thing in the world. "I think it's best that you and I no longer see each other. So, um, I guess this is goodbye, then."

"Fine," Kaiba heard himself say and he seemed to be watching from the outside as he picked up the folder without looking at it and tucked it under his forearms. This was the office; he knew that he needed to remain completely calm before she started to get emotional. "Because you will not be a Kaiba Corporation employee, I will be sending you commission on your project through the mail."

"It's fine, really. I'd prefer you not do that," she said immediately. She seemed to have thought of everything. "I do not wish to be paid for having been lied to for nearly a year."

That one stung, and was mildly annoying, but Kaiba didn't let it show on his face. "I don't care whether or not you prefer I not do something. I am not the kind of man to underpay employees for their work."

"I'm moving soon," Kisara said quietly. "So the address on file will not be valid." Moving? She was moving out of the apartment with Jonouchi and Honda? Where was she going? Did Pegasus convince her to pack up and go to San Fransisco? "And before you say anything, no, I'm not moving to California."

"I didn't ask where you were going," Kaiba stated, trying to take his mind off the conversation by shuffling papers on his desk and blankly staring at the computer screen as though it had some kind of relevance to the scene unfolding before him.

"Okay," Kisara said, her voice soft still. "That's all I really came here for." She bowed low, completely polite. "Goodbye, Kaiba-_shachou_."

He hadn't heard her say that in what seemed like a thousand years. She lifted herself up and for a brief moment, Kaiba saw that her eyes were rimmed a light red and there were bags under her eyes, like she had spent the entire weekend just…crying day and night. Kaiba didn't want to look at that; for once, he didn't want to see the emotional damage he had caused.

He knew that all he needed to do was stand up and ask her to wait and make her listen. There was still hope; her crying was proof that she still might believe in him even just a bit and if Kaiba could change her mind about him, maybe they could talk.

But he was frozen to the chair, watching her back grow farther and farther away as she left. She had that power; to walk out on him, and Kaiba had the power to stop her. But he didn't say a word – he just sat silently as the door closed behind her.

How long had Kaiba been staring at the door, half hoping that she would be the one opening it? Kaiba lost track of time. He filed papers, looked through requests, signed forms, punched in numbers; this was what it meant to be a CEO, right? He _was _the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company, wasn't he? He had almost forgotten what it felt like to stand at the top of the world and watch it squirm in terror.

Maybe this was what he needed. Space. Distance. He needed to be reminded who he was and why he was there at the highest floor in Kaiba Corporations, sitting in the seat of the most powerful man in the world. Losing Kisara reminded him exactly who he was. He thought he could successfully continue work this way and for the next two weeks, did not say a word about her, did not make any notion to contact her, and tried to push her out of his mind completely.

But it didn't make the empty feeling go away. Kaiba arrived at work in the morning, alone. He left the building at five, alone. His hand felt oddly cold without holding hers. He didn't get one sweet smile, or his favorite line, "Have a lovely day," from his favorite person, because, well, he had tried to forget her completely.

He needed something. Anything. Any reason to go and see her. Any excuse to speak to her, to hear her voice. Kaiba nearly tore up his room trying to find something – _anything _– to use to go and see her face. She was probably still at Jonouchi's apartment, right? He found it; the box set of _Naruto _that he had finished and the volumes of _One Outs _that he had borrowed. He had to return them, right? Immediately, Kaiba slid into his Lexus and made the twenty-minute drive to her familiar apartment.

Kaiba took notice of the rather expensive looking automobile in the visitor stall next to his. It was some racing car that looked like a rental but it was still likely to have cost a lot of money nonetheless. He half wondered what kind of imbecile would rent a car that looked like it was from a bad action movie.

He inhaled slowly as he knocked on the apartment door and from the outside heard a voice. "IT'S YUGIIIIII!" a male voice roared. Kaiba didn't recognize that voice, but he did recognize the next.

"Oh, stop yelling," Kisara laughed from the other side of the door.

"BUT IT'S YUUUUUGIIIIII!" the same male voice responded, followed by Kisara falling into a giggling fit.

"Yugi-_san_'s not supposed to be here for another hour," she said.

The male didn't seem to understand. "I'M SO EXCITED! YUUUUGIIII!" There were a series of bumping noises and the sound of furniture being knocked over until the door was finally yanked open, Kisara over some tall man's shoulder. The man answering the door paused for a moment upon seeing Kaiba but Kisara was still laughing.

"Hey, will you let me down so I can say hi to—" she was finally let down and then froze once she saw Kaiba at the door. The man by Kisara's side was rather good looking; his skin was slightly tanned, and his dark hair was in a stylish tousle. The outlines of his lean muscles were visible due to his deep violet tank top.

Then Kaiba reached a dawning realization. Was this…Kisara's new boyfriend? Quickly analyzing the situation, he noticed how she leaned into him slightly as though requesting protection and the man responded appropriately, furrowing his brows and looking quite concerned. Kaiba also peered past them to see that Jonouchi and Honda were not on the couch; Kisara and the mystery man were home alone. He could also see cardboard boxes and suitcases filled; was this man going to help Kisara move out? A boiling hot bubble of rage stirred inside Kaiba's chest but he refused to let it show on his face.

"Kaiba," Kisara greeted politely, bowing slightly. She turned and placed her hands on the man's chest very gently, like she used to do to Kaiba to get him to calm down and back off. "I'll be okay. Wait inside for me."

The dark haired man hesitated for a moment, but then tousled her hair affectionately before giving her the space she requested, heading back into the house. Kisara closed the door, hooking strands of hair behind her ear. Kaiba had done it. He had gotten a chance to speak to her. She looked perfectly able to handle this confrontation but before Kaiba could stop himself, he snapped, "Is that your new boyfriend?"

Kisara seemed shocked by the sudden question. She scoffed, shaking her head. "I'm not sure that that's any of your business."

"As a matter of fact, it is my business," Kaiba replied sharply.

Kisara shook her head, looking down at the ground for a moment. "What do you want?"

Kaiba paused for a moment, gathering himself. He lifted the box of books. "These are yours."

She glanced at them, taking the box out of his hands. "Thanks," she said, completely neutral. She turned to open the door, mumbling a goodbye.

Wait, no! That was it? Three sentences? This was Kaiba's last excuse; it was his _only_ excuse! If he let her turn around and go back into the house, there was no telling when he would see her again, if ever! "That's not all," Kaiba said abruptly. Kisara stopped for a moment, hesitating. Hesitation! That was all Kaiba needed. He needed her to doubt for one second that she didn't care for him any more. "I need to talk to you. I need to explain myself."

"I don't want to hear it," she said quietly. "What's done is done. Let it go, okay? You and I are both better off like this, don't you think?"

No. No. _No_. Tell her _no_! This always happened. Kaiba was always unable to find his voice when he needed it the most. Kisara offered him a fake smile at Kaiba's lack of response. "Well, uh, thanks for bringing my _manga_. The new _One Outs _comes out next week." She pushed open the door and before Kaiba could even say another word, she was gone again.

Kaiba hated himself. He had such a habit of being completely capable of letting people leave him that he had no idea how to make them stay. All his life he had done nothing but let people leave because he knew that there were ten people that could take their place. But this was different. She was special and he had let her leave him three times already. He raised his fist, ready to knock, but then stopped short of the door.

He couldn't. She had a new life now. She seemed to be okay, rebuilding herself after Kaiba had utterly destroyed her. Kaiba knew that she did attract men because of her quirky, cute personality and if this was her way of getting over Kaiba then so be it. To each their own. Kaiba just needed to let her live her own life. Lowering his hand, Kaiba pivoted on his heel and swept away from the apartment complex for the last time.

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><p>On the otherside of the door, Kisara stood with her palm against the wood, leaning her forehead against the door. "Knock," she whispered, feeling tears well up in her eyes. She could still see his shadow on the other side of the door. "Just knock, you idiot."<p>

Emptiness. Kisara had never really known the meaning of the word because she had always filled herself with other things. She was good at school, and she had a lot of friends; she never did feel hollowed out until recently. Like she had lost everything that she had ever worked for. All Kaiba needed to do was knock; all he needed to do was fight for her and she knew that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from listening. A tiny part of her still…believed in him.

And then that part died when she saw his shadow turn away and his footsteps fade. She pressed her lips together, fighting the urge to cry. All she did was cry nowadays and hated herself for it. But nothing had ever hurt as much as this.

She took a deep breath, turning away from the door. She hadn't really believed it herself, but maybe what she had said was right. They were better off this way.

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><p>When Kaiba returned to the apartment, he was a little surprised to see Mana on the couch with Mokuba. He shrugged off his jacket as she shot daggers at him with her eyes. She stood up and marched right up to him, unafraid. "You're a despicable human being, you know that?"<p>

Kaiba did, in fact, know that. But he did not say it, as he did assume she was asking a rhetorical question. He did not feel the need to argue at the moment. So, he just walked right past her to the kitchen to pop open the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. He planned on shutting himself in his room but the younger Ryusei was quite persistent.

"Don't you fucking ignore me," she growled, hands on her hips as she attempted to antagonize him. "You're the epitamy of evil and I can't believe you did that to_ aneki_. She's the nicest person on this planet and you took advantage of her!"

Yes, these were things that Kaiba knew everyone else assumed. He didn't care, and moved past her again towards the hallway. To Mana, however, this behavior was unacceptable and she pushed the back of his shoulders. "Listen to me when I'm fucking talking to you, shit head," she snapped, nearly screaming. Mokuba had to stand up now to try and calm her down. Kaiba didn't turn around, merely stood there. Another person was just going to tell him what a horrible person he was. "She loved you," Mana said, sniffing. Kaiba realized that she was crying. "She _loved_ you. _You_, of all people in the world, and _you _were supposed to be the _one person _that she could rely on and _you _were the one that hurt her the most. How you can sleep at night after what you've done is just unfathomable!"

"If that's all, I have work to do," Kaiba said flatly, forcing his feet to move as he swept into his room. He knew all of that. It was just someone telling him what he already knew and he had tried to fix it but he just wasn't good with words. He never was. And Kisara seemed better now, so why would he try to disrupt that peace? He closed the door behind him and placed the bottle of water down on his desk, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

He had definitely blown it today. As pathetic as it sounded, those _manga _were the last connection he had to Kisara. He had no reason to go and see her anymore. It really was done, wasn't it? Kaiba flipped open his laptop and tried to pull up some spreadsheets to get started on some work but he was so angry and twisted up that he couldn't even focus for longer than two breaths.

And to make matters worse, Mokuba, being the kind-hearted kid he was, came in after Kaiba without knocking on the door. "I need to talk to you," he said, sounding serious.

Kaiba didn't want to talk. He didn't turn to face his brother, just tried to focus on the numbers on the screen. "What?"

"You…feel bad, right? About what you did to Kisara?" Mokuba said. "Because if you don't, then I think you should. Mana wasn't upset just because Kisara is her sister, you know. Everyone is upset."

"Why should I care what everyone thinks?" Kaiba said, still not facing his brother.

Mokuba pressed his lips together, frustrated. "You should care what I think."

Kaiba turned, keeping his face emotionless. "Well, what do you think, then?"

"I agree with Mana," Mokuba said, not sounding afraid. Kaiba wasn't surprised that Mokuba thought that, but he was surprised that he had the balls to say it. "But I also think that you did love Kisara."

Kaiba scoffed and turned around. "None of that even matters anymore."

"Why can't you admit it?" Mokuba demanded. "Why can't you just say it? It would have saved you a lot of trouble if you could've just sucked up whatever pride issues you have and simply said those words to her. You wouldn't even be sitting here alone if you had told her at least once. She would have believed you over Pegasus."

Kaiba scoffed. "Because I'm the kind of sick human being that lies at the beginning of relationships," he snapped sarcastically. "If all you've come in here to do is agree with the second helping of your seemingly endless stream of obnoxious little girlfriends, then get out; I don't need to hear anymore of what you think."

Mokuba glared at his brother. "Oh, right, because you're Kaiba Seto and you don't need anyone else, huh? That's why you've been wallowing in sorrow for the past three weeks and shutting yourself in your room. You're so immature! You're acting like a little kid! I don't even get why you can't just go to her and admit you were wrong and go and talk to her. You can't even suck up your pride for five minutes to give her a decent apology? Honestly, if you can't even do that, then I have no respect for you anymore," Mokuba said, clenching his hands into fists.

"Fine," Kaiba said simply. "If you really feel that way then pack up your shit and get out. If you don't harbor respect for the one person on this earth that gave you everything you could ever ask for; that built you a life out of _nothing_, then you're just as worthless and pathetic as your other half. Get the _fuck _out of my house."

The younger Kaiba glared, pressing his lips together. "If that's how it is, then fine," Mokuba said, shrugging. He turned to leave but then paused at the door. "I wished for her, you know. I wished that someone would come and change you for the better and I thought it was miracle that Kisara appeared again. It was fate. She would have followed you to the ends of the earth and the only person there is to blame for her absence is yourself. Goodbye, Seto."

Mokuba slammed the door behind him and Kaiba closed his eyes, rubbing thte bridge of his nose. He heard Mokuba hurriedly shoving things into a suitcase and then the slam of the front door as Kaiba's younger brother walked out on him too. Kaiba really was alone now. And all there was left was silence.


	29. Chapter 29: Fighting Back

**A/N: Exams are over -_- Well I have one on Monday but it's not gonna be that bad so hopefully I will find time to write more this weekend. Thanks again for all the support~**

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><p>Kaiba took a deep breath. How long had it been that he had been coming home to an empty house? One week felt like an entire year, just dragging by. He ate alone, slept alone, woke up alone, and left an empty home to return to one after another monotonous day at work.<p>

So on a Saturday, two hours later, he didn't even realize that he had driven for so long. But he was here. If Kisara said she was moving, then wouldn't she go back to her parent's first? Or something like that, Kaiba didn't even know what the hell he was doing showing up at the Ryusei family's front door. He raised his fist and knocked on the door, his mind numb. What was he supposed to say? Even after a whole month, the gossip about him and Kisara hadn't calmed one bit. He didn't doubt for one second that her parents hadn't heard about this from either the media or Kisara herself.

But he needed something – _anything _– from her. Hearing her voice, seeing her face, anything would be fine at this point. He was desperate.

Kumiko answered the door with a smile but that bright expression faded upon seeing Kaiba. Instead, her lips lifted up into a false one, just to be polite. "Kaiba-_san_," she greeted. She did not invite him in.

"I apologize for my unannounced visit, but I…" he trailed off. But what? But _what_? He had no reason for coming here besides hoping to see Kisara. He swallowed a lump in his throat. "Do you…know where she is?"

Kumiko pressed her lips together. The man standing before her seemed like the shadow of the CEO of Kaiba Corporations, not Kaiba Seto himself. He still stood proudly but there was something about him that was off; like he had given up half of his weight – there was no spirit behind his stance. He didn't seem to have looked like he had much sleep either; there were signs of bags under his eyes. "I do," she said finally. "But I'm not going to tell you."

Kaiba's chest tightened. "I see."

Kumiko sighed, actually feeling a little bad for the guy, despite everything that she had heard. "I think it's best that you forget about my daughter, Kaiba-_san_. If you continue to pursue her, I think it will only make matters worse."

"But I need to talk to her," Kaiba said quietly. He needed to try again. "Please tell me where she is."

Kumiko pressed her lips together and for a moment, Kaiba thought that Kisara's mother would, indeed, divulge her location, but then she sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I can't. Please go home and get some rest, Kaiba-_san_."

Kaiba stiffened and then nodded briefly. "I understand. I apologize once again for my intrusion." And with that he turned on his heels and Kumiko closed the door. The rumble of the CEO's engine grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared completely.

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><p>Kaiba had thought a lot about what Mokuba had said. That he was immature, acting like a child. That if he had simply opened his mouth before any of this, or even during, then Kisara would still be standing here with him. He would be able to physically be near her – the scent of her vanilla shampoo, the sweet smile she always gave him, the gentleness of her touch when she rubbed his knuckles, her tinkling laugh – Kaiba found himself haunted by those things purely because he missed them so much that his chest ached and twisted. He lost track of days and nights; lost track of sleep. It seemed like he would just shut his eyes for two seconds, and then it was morning.<p>

He never realized how much he hated waking up alone until he was actually forced to do it. It was perhaps, almost the most painful thing he had ever experienced. And he endured this eye-gauging torture every single fucking day. It was absolutely unbearable.

The young CEO flipped open his phone and clicked one for speed dial. Mokuba hadn't been answering his calls for a week now; Kaiba had no idea where the kid went. It was summer vacation and school was out. Kaiba still worked everyday and Mokuba never returned home. Kaiba suspected that his brother snuck in while he knew Kaiba was at work to grab some things and do his laundry, but Kaiba never did see his raven-haired little brother for some time.

He did not, in fact, have Mana's number, and would probably receive the same, if not a worse, response from the younger Ryusei. Calling Kisara was out of the question; several times, he had forced himself to press "TALK" on his phone one night to see if he would incite a response.

_I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed is not available…_

She had changed her phone number. Kaiba did not have Jonouchi's phone number, though that was quite obvious, nor did he have Kujaku Mai's or Honda Hiroto's. Without Kisara, Kaiba had nothing. He couldn't find anyone.

Kaiba sat in the café on a random weekday night. He had been there on Wednesdays, wondering if she had still sang but it seemed like she had rescheduled her jazz singing for the afternoons during the summer, when Kaiba was at work. And now with things getting a bit busy for summer promotions within the company, Kaiba couldn't take random days off anymore to try and see her.

And to his complete amazement, he did see Kisara. He checked his watch. It was a Wednesday night. He had been here last week Wednesday night, and the week before that, too, but she didn't perform then. Perhaps she was covering a shift now?

She was just as beautiful as ever, her hair lightly curled over her shoulders, fingers gliding across the piano as that voice Kaiba missed so much drafted into his ears. Did she see him? How long had it been since they had last exchanged words? Did she still think about him? Did she still love him?

Thinking about that last one was like a pang against a frying pan, terribly and awfully hollow and empty. She didn't even seem to notice him now, whereas before, she looked at Kaiba like he was the only person in the room. He hadn't even realized how much he had really taken advantage of her and those small little gestures until now.

Kaiba didn't really know what to think or what to do. But he needed to do something. Fourth chance. This was his _fourth_ _chance_ to say something to Kisara and Kaiba knew that if there was a God, He would not be so kind as to give Kaiba a fifth. After her performance, Kaiba stood up, determined. He needed five seconds. Five seconds to say those words that have been teetering on the tip of his tongue.

But he stopped short. That same man that he had seen at Kisara's old apartment with Jonouchi was sitting in one of the tables near the stage. Kaiba saw the bouquet of big, beautiful white roses perched on the table as well. He clapped when she finished and she went straight to his table from the stage. He presented her the flowers to which she flashed him a bright grin, expressing her thanks.

"That was fantastic, Kisa-_chan_," Kaiba heard him say. He ruffled her hair affectionately once again and she laughed, swatting him away. "I'm definitely glad I got to see you perform."

She smiled sweetly. "Thanks. Wanna go grab dinner now?"

Kaiba blocked the rest of it out. That was it, wasn't it? That older man really was Kisara's new boyfriend, wasn't he? Kaiba's chest tightened. He couldn't speak to her now. He had completely lost his shot at an explanation. He tossed his coffee in the trash and left without another word.

Chance meetings were never really something that Kaiba believed in, but upon returning home from work early one evening, he was surprised to see Mokuba at home. The younger Kaiba was just about to haul out another helping on laundry – he had probably spent the afternoon here – and leaving the house again.

"Sorry," Mokuba responded on reflex, as he almost bumped into Kaiba as he passed.

"Where are you going?" Kaiba asked. This was probably the first words he had spoken to anyone of any kind of importance lately. Even his rare limousine rides with Isono were with limited conversation, as Kaiba knew that his right hand man probably did not have the best opinion of him at the moment. Isono's son really did like Kisara.

"It's none of your business," Mokuba shot back.

Kaiba shook his head, expecting that responded. "Of course," he replied with a hint of sarcasm. He headed into the kitchen to grab a beer. "I also hope that suitcase is not filled with instant ramen."

Mokuba knew that his brother knew him all too well. One of Mokuba's suitcases was, indeed, stockpiled with the house's supply of instant ramen. He was more surprised that his brother seemed to care whether or not he was eating right. Mokuba swallowed a lump in his throat. Even upon seeing Kaiba for two seconds, he knew that his older brother did not seem to be doing all too well.

But Mokuba couldn't feel sorry for him now. There were just some things that people needed to experience in order to grow. This was one of them. "I've been eating alright," Mokuba said quietly. "Thanks, though. I'll see you."

And then Mokuba closed the door quietly. Kaiba popped open his beer and sat on the couch to drone out on the news. He would have thought that perhaps Mokuba would have stayed if he said something to his younger brother, but as quickly as Mokuba was here, he was gone again. Kaiba always thought that the one person who would stand by him unwaveringly would be his little brother and yet some how he had managed to push him away, too.

Was he just not good at relationships? Kaiba didn't even know who he was anymore. He knew that he was awkward and perhaps not always so kind but he did try hard to keep Kisara around. He went on dates with her and bought her gifts, he surprised her with trips to a hot spring and to Kaiba Land. And he knew that he had gotten better with dealing with people in general; it was why Yugi kept inviting him back every Sunday, right?

_Yugi_. Kaiba slammed his beer down on the table. If there was one person that would always find Kaiba it was Yugi, so Kaiba knew that he would have no trouble if he was the one that wanted to find Yugi. He threw on his jacket and briskly swept out of the apartment. If there was someone he could talk to, then that person was Mutou Yugi.

However, at the Mutou residence, the person that answered the door was not Yugi, but it was his grandfather, Solomon. "Kaiba," he said, sounding confused as to why the CEO suddenly showed up on his doorstep one afternoon. "What are you doing here?"

"Where's Yugi?" Kaiba asked, trying to keep the desperation from his voice.

Solomon scratched his head, seeming to think. "Yugi and Anzu are out at the moment. They went to go and see Kisara off at the airport."

Kaiba felt his heart nearly stop. Airport? She was going overseas? Kaiba quickly shuffled facts together. There was no reason for her to stay in Japan anymore. She was a successful programmer, but she was out of work. Domino University was not the best university in the world for programming so she wouldn't continue her degree in Japan. She didn't have a job in Japan anymore; if she had found one with another company then Kaiba knew that he would have heard about it on the news.

What if she was moving to California? That was the last thing Kaiba wanted. "Which airport?" Kaiba demanded. Solomon looked hesitant and Kaiba felt rage bubbling in his chest. "If you don't tell me _right now_—"

"Kaiba?" a voice asked, the CEO turned to see a spikey haired figure. Anzu was coming out from her car after Yugi, and upon seeing Kaiba, shot him a look. Yugi didn't look too happy himself. "What do you want?"

"Where is she?" Kaiba asked Yugi.

Yugi kept his gaze firm. "That's none of your business, Kaiba."

Kaiba clenched his jaw. "Tell me. Tell me right now what airport she's at or so help me I'm going to fucking murder you and your girlfriend right here."

"Your threats don't mean anything to us," Anzu said, backing up her boyfriend. "You don't deserve to see Kisara, not after what you did. I thought you changed, but really, you're just the same evil, evil man."

"I know that I look bad," Kaiba said, trying to remain calm. If they had returned then did that mean she was on the plane already? "But you must tell me where she is right now."

"Or what?" Anzu challenged, glaring at Kaiba and crossing her arms over her chest.

Kaiba clenched his fist. And then he exhaled, lifting a hand to rub the bridge of his nose. "Or nothing," he said quietly. "I don't…have anything. I just need to go and speak to her before I lose the opportunity. Please tell me where she is."

Yugi looked hesitant, but Anzu stayed strong. "I'm not falling for your pity party. You deserve every last shitty comment said about you and there's no way that we'd tell you where Kisara is. Right, Yugi?"

Yugi paused for what seemed like an eternity. Even Anzu was starting to look weary at her boyfriend's lack of response. After everything that happened, it had been over a month and Kaiba was still trying to contact Kisara? Yugi knew that Kaiba wasn't the kind of man to feel guilty; so it wasn't like he wanted to speak to her to clear his conscience. There had to be another reason, right? Otherwise Kaiba wouldn't have come all this way. "She changed you," he said, still seeming to think about his words. "Didn't she?"

Kaiba locked eyes with Yugi. "She did."

"And you …really loved her, didn't you? You _still_ love her, right?"

Anzu blinked a few times, surprised by Yugi's response. She was even more surprised by Kaiba's. He spoke without hesitation. "You already know the answer to that. So, if you would tell me where she is then perhaps I can tell her myself."

Yugi nodded slowly, looking as though he was thinking. "Okay," he said, and Kaiba looked a bit surprised. Yugi nodded, stronger this time. "Okay. I'll tell you where she is."

"Yugi," Anzu said, shaking her head.

Yugi smiled at his girlfriend. "This is the right thing to do," he assured her. He turned back to Kaiba. "You're lucky we left the airport early, her flight didn't take off yet." And then back to Anzu. "Go inside and get ready, I'll be back in a little bit, okay?"

Anzu opened her mouth to protest but Kaiba was already heading for his car, with Yugi following. She sighed a little as the two men sped off. When was she _ever _going to get to go on a normal date?

Yugi clung to the seat for dear life. Kaiba was speeding down the freeway like he was in some kind of high speed car chase; the only problem was that there was no one chasing him. "This exit," Yugi squeaked and Kaiba whipped the vehicle towards the exit, nearly taking off his rearview mirror as he sliced in front of a nother car. He glanced at the clock.

"What time was her flight?" he demanded as he turned his eyes up to read the signs for the airport gates. "What gate?"

"G-gate C," Yugi squeaked and Kaiba jammed on the gas, flying down the ramp towards the said gate. His Lexus came to a screeching halt in front of the gate and he shut off the car in the loading zone, sliding out of the car. A security guard tried to stop him.

"Sir, you can't park there," he informed Kaiba as a matter of fact.

Kaiba shot him the iciest glare he had ever thrown another man, and the security guard physically flinched. "I fucking _dare _you to tow my car," Kaiba challenged, and swept into the airport without another words.

His strides were much longer and quicker than Yugi's, and the shorter man had to practically jog to keep up with Kaiba. "Flight 2452," Yugi said, pointing the way. Kaiba didn't even bother to look at where that flight was headed because if all went well within the next ten minutes then she wouldn't be getting on that plane.

He spotted her almost instantly, as well as Jonouchi, Honda, Mai, and Bakura. Where the fuck was she going? Kisara ran a hand through her silver hair and lifted her suitcase; that was when Kaiba noticed that man she was always with – her new boyfriend – was standing with her, saying goodbye to her friends.

Fuck, _no_.

Kisara turned as he ticket seemed to be called and waved one last time to her friends before starting for the entrance. The time frame Kaiba had literally was two seconds.

"Kisara," he called, and she turned with the sound of her name to see him sweeping towards her, and to be honest, he wouldn't be surprised if he looked a little frazzled. He had risked his life – and Yugi's – coming here and nearly sprinted through the airport trying to catch her. And he still didn't know what the fuck to say.

"What do you doing here?" she asked, seeming just as surprised as everyone else. She paused for a moment, but that was all that Kaiba needed.

"I need to talk to you," he said. It seemed like the only thing he knew how to say around her. Kisara looked annoyed, shaking her head.

"You know, it's been over a month. You had all that time to come and talk to me and I'm over it," she said, looking upset. "You've taken everything away from me. Can't you just let me leave with my dignity and my self-respect? I don't need to hear any more bullshit."

Kaiba clenched his jaw. He was not used to being spoken to like that but this was his absolute last chance. There was no way in hell that he was going to screw it up. "I'm not going to let you leave."

"Why?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Need to quench the horrible demon inside you that feels _so _guilty for using me for a year? Here to give me a paycheck with a billion dollars to try and make it up to me because you have money and you can make the rules?" There was sarcasm dripping like venom from every word and Kaiba, while annoyed that he was being slammed like this, oddly found her new sense of confidence overwhelmingly cute and extremely attractive.

But he still needed to inhale a little before he lost his temper. "Give me five minutes to explain," he continued. "Don't get on that plane."

"I'm done listening to you and I am sure as hell done waiting for you to come and fight for me," she said, and Kaiba could see her hands shaking slightly. She was nervous. This act of defiance was completely unlike her and even she seemed to know it.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I know that I haven't exactly given you a reason to listen to me and I know that this is long overdue, but—"

"It is," she said, interrupting him. She shook her head, looking defeated. "It is long overdue. I don't have the energy to listen to it anymore."

_"Last call for rows 35-40," _announced the speakers, and Kisara shook her head again. She tightened her grip on her suitcase as her new boyfriend placed a hand on her shoulder, signaling her to leave.

Kaiba resisted the urge to step in and punch that man in the face. "Kisara," he said firmly, hoping to change her mind.

"Save it," she said, turning. Kaiba caught her wrist, completely taing her off guard.

"Do not walk away from me," he said, his voice low. "Do _not _get on that plane with that man."

"_Stop_," Kisara said, taking her hand back. She looked like she was about to cry. "Just _stop. _Do you even understand how much I did for you and how much I trusted you only to have you crumple it up and throw it in my face? You don't deserve any of my time so please just _stop_."

"I know that I made a mistake," Kaiba continued. "But—"

"But what? Huh? You've been lying to me this whole time! Why should I believe anything that comes out of your mouth? Why should I trust you?"

"Because I love you."

Kisara completely froze. Even her breathing seemed to have stopped with those words. That hesitation was all Kaiba needed. "I know I should have told you sooner and I am sorry that it took so long for me to say it," he said, speaking slowly. "Pegasus made you believe him and I don't blame him for that; I do blame myself for not fighting back then but I understand now what it means to be in a relationship. And I'm finally ready."

Kisara still looked hesitant, and shook her head. "How can I even believe that after all of this?" she said, perhaps not speaking to Kaiba, but trying to remind herself of why she was standing here a the airport with another man. Her boyfriend had gone onto the plane already, sure that she would follow and Kaiba wanted to punch that douche in the face. However, he remained still, waiting for her reaction. She looked at him and looked completely full of doubt; like she wanted to believe him but couldn't. "I can't. All you care about is your company and I can't deal with that anymore."

"Speaking of that," Kaiba said, lifting his briefcase. He shifted it and then opened it to show her. Inside were slips and slips of thickly stacked papers. "To show you how serious I am, here is my 49% of Kaiba Corporations. You can have it," he said, and then snapped it shut, holding it to her. Kisara didn't take it, so he placed it on the ground by her feet. Kaiba continued speaking. "I always thought…that I was better off alone. I have always lived alone and I have become successful all on my own and…it wasn't until I met you that I'm now…terrified of being alone. I can't do it. I need you. And I know that these are just words and perhaps my actions do not reflect them very appropriately, but you must understand that I am very new at this," he said, swallowing a lump in his throat. He had never been so nervous in his life. "You…and I are…meant to be. I feel it in my bones. And I don't know how to do anything without you anymore. I don't want you to get on that plane because I don't want you to leave me ever again. I'm sorry that I let you walk out and I'm sorry that I didn't fight back right away but…I'm here now. And I will do everything within my power to make it up to you, if you will grant me the privilege." Kaiba paused for a bit as Kisara was completely silent and the brunette swallowed another lump in his throat. "But…if you really have no feelings for me anymore, then…I understand. I won't stand in the way of your happiness anymore. If you no longer love me, then I have no purpose being here. You can go."

The silence afterwards felt like the longest silence in Kaiba's life. It was the most painful wait, and it seemed like even her friends were listening intently, waiting on her response. _Jonouchi _had even shut his big trap to hear what she had to say. And then she seemed to snap out of her statue-like state, and shook her head, looking up at Kaiba with tear-filled eyes. "I'm sorry. I can't," she said, and then turned on her heels, disappearing onto the plane.


	30. Chapter 30: Six Weeks

_**SIX WEEKS EARLIER**_

"What the hell're we supposed ta do?" Jonouchi groaned, running a hand through his hair. Kisara had come home on Friday night crying uncontrollably and her roommates did not exactly know how to deal with this so they needed other opinions. They, therefore, called everyone else. "I ain't never seen her this sad!"

"And it didn't help that the first words you said were 'I told you so'," Honda added exasperatedly.

"Oy, oy, I wasn't thinkin', okay?" Jonouchi defended, shaking his head at his friend. "I ain't never knew it was that serious! I thought they just got into a little argument, that's all! Who knew he woulda actually broken up wit' 'er."

"Okay, well they weren't really together in the first place, right?" Bakura asked pitching in his opinion.

"But they pretty much were," Yugi said, pinching the tips of his spikes. For some reason he had an itching feeling that something wasn't right. He knew Kaiba very well and also knew that the CEO seemed to have changed this past year. Kaiba was the kind of man to lie to someone, but he was not the kind of man to let a woman like Kisara slip away. It didn't make sense.

"Maybe we should take her out to eat," Jonouchi suggested. "Like, a nice restaurant, yennoe? Invite the girls, dress up, the works! Make her feel special, the center of attention!"

"Kisara feels uncomfortable being treated to things like that," Honda said, shooting down the idea. "The only person she was okay with it really was Kaiba. It'd probably just make her sadder."

"Maybe something stay-at-home?" Yugi piped. Regardless of why Kisara was sad, it didn't change the fact that _Kisara was sad_. He wanted to cheer her up. "We should invite the girls, and we can make dinner, play some games, watch a movie and eat ice cream and then she can just talk to us about what happened."

"That sounds great," Honda said with a grin. "I'll go and pitch the idea to her, and see what she says."

"I think this weekend sometime would probably be best," Yugi added. "She'll need someone to talk to and we need to be there." Honda and Jonouchi nodded, plans having been made and headed back to the apartment to talk to Kisara. She had locked herself in her room and had spent most of Friday night and Saturday afternoon crying and when she finally came out due to lack of food, she didn't look too great.

"Kisa-_chan_, we have a shower yennoe," Jonouchi teased, and Kisara sniffed, her eyebrows creasing inward like she was going to start crying again and Jonouchi held up his hands. "Oh, no, no, no, no, I was just kiddin', please don't cry!"

"I do think you should shower, though," Honda said, sounding lighter. "Everyone's gonna come over tonight for dinner and games and we'll talk this thing out, okay?"

"There's no need for that," she said, her voice sounding weak ad scratchy as she ran a hand through her tangled hair. "Thanks, though."

"No, you need it," Jonouchi insisted. "You needa talk about what happened. We're your friends, Kisa-_chan_, we're here for you when you're in trouble and you're in a load of it."

"Thanks, Jonouchi," she said, and Honda wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not. Apparently, Jonouchi wasn't sure either because he grinned broadly.

"Don't mention it," he said, flipping her a thumbs up. "Now go and shower, get ready. We're gonna make you feel better, alright?"

"Okay," she said weakly, swiping a package of crackers from the counter. She headed into her room, ate them quickly, and then headed into the shower. Jonouchi and Honda had the whole evening planned out with the help of Mai and Shizuka, the former of which was extremely pissed off with Kaiba and Jonouchi had to stop her from marching straight over to Kaiba Corporations and beating the shit of the CEO. Jonouchi told her it was because he wanted to do that, but the fact was that he knew Mai would probably seriously kill him, since Kisara living here sort of made Mai like a mother hen and think of Kisara as one of her own. And she had also been there with Kisara had come home in tears and exploded. It was horrifying and Jonouchi did not want to deal with a lawsuit because of his insane girlfriend.

Mai came over first with a giant cake she had baked for Kisara. Yugi and Anzu brought games and Bakura brought over some movies. Otogi bought Kisara chocolate and flowers, which Mai thought was highly inappropriate but Jonouchi had, of course, asked her not to say anything of the such.

"This is all really unnecessary," she told them upon greeting her friends when they all came over. "I'm really okay."

However, her puffy eyes and pale appearance said otherwise. "Don't worry about it, honey," Mai said, patting Kisara on the head. "We're all here for you, so don't sweat it. We're gonna have a good time tonight, okay?"

Kisara nodded, smiling a little. "Okay. Thank you so much, everyone."

"Oh, yeah, Mai, did you tell her?" Jonouchi said, coming into the living room with a pot of _shabu shabu _for the evening.

Mai shot Jonouchi a look. "Now's not exactly the right time, Katsuya," she warned. Jonouchi didn't seem to catch the hint and grinned at Kisara.

"Mai and I are moving in together," he said, crossing his arms proudly at Kisara. "We're living with Honda and Shizuka, too, so those fools don't do anythin' I don't approve of." He shot Honda a look, the brunette shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

"That's great," Kisara said with a smile. Then it faded when she realized what he was really saying. "So…I need to move out."

Mai slapped Jonouchi's shoulder. "That's why I said _now is not the time_," she sighed exasperatedly. She turned back to Kisara. "There's no rush for anything, Kisara. Katsuya and I just talked about this last week and we haven't really decided on anything for certain yet. He was just overly excited about the thought."

"Oh. Okay," she said, running a hand through her hair. Mai dropped the subject immediately, firing whispers at Jonouchi scolding him as they cooked dinner together. Everyone tried to make jokes to make her feel better and Kisara sincerely appreciated the gesture but there was…something missing.

She stood up before dessert and plucked her phone off the counter. "I'm sorry, I have to call my brother," she said quietly, heading back into her room. She dialed in her brother's phone number and on the first ring, he answered.

"Kisa?" he said, and she could see the smile on his face even through the phone.

"Hi, _Nii-sama_," she answered, his voice calming her down a little. Being in there with people that looked at her like she was a wounded puppy was a little too much right now. She just wanted her brother to come to Japan.

"What's wrong?" Mahad asked, knowing her too well. "Are you okay?"

And then Kisara broke down again, sobbing into the phone as she told everything to her brother. How Kaiba had lied and betrayed her, how he didn't fight for her, how he had broken his promise, and it felt like she was just ripping open a fresh wound, the empty feeling in her gut nearly consuming her. Mahad listened quietly, and at the end of it, he said, "I love you, Kisa. More than any other person ever will, you understand? You're my baby sister, so just wait for me."

And then he was gone. Kisara tried to call him back, but he didn't answer. What the hell was that even about? But nonetheless, hearing her brother say those words made her feel a lot better, even if he did hang out at the end. She sniffed and tucked her phone away, heading into the bathroom to wash her face. When she came back into the living room, Mai had set up her cake. It was chocolate with white frosting and blue roses. She smiled at Kisara. No words were needed. Kisara sat with her friends and enjoyed the time she had with them.

"Thank you," she told them sincerely. "I could have never asked for awesomer friends. I promise that I'll start feeling better and I'm really glad that I have you guys by my side."

They all smiled in response, offering her kind words but before she even knew it, was late and everyone had to go home. They hadn't really asked her about Kaiba, just…been there for her if she needed to talk.

But while they were leaving, Yugi stayed back, asking Anzu to wait in the car. "What is it?" she asked, standing with him on the balcony in front of her apartment.

"I know that you…must be feeling really confused," Yugi started. "I've never really completely understood Kaiba or the things he did but this is really uncharacteristic of him." Actually, it was so characteristic of him that now, it didn't even seem like something he would have done, but Yugi didn't want to say that out loud. He believed that Kaiba was a different person and him doing something that the Kaiba five years would have done was shocking.

"Well, I'm going to go talk to him on Monday at work," she said with a shrug. "I'm sure that he'd want to talk, right? I mean, I definitely want to talk. I want to fix this. I was just really upset on Friday and I couldn't talk but I think I'm ready to talk now."

"Don't do that," Yugi said gently. Kisara seemed surprised by his advice and even Yugi seemed to know that this was not like him to discourage people from trying to fix things. "Kaiba's…a little different, you know? He's really used to things sort of just…going his way, I guess, since he worked so hard when he was younger to get where he is, he isn't used to fighting for things like this – for _people_ like you."

"So, what do I do? I mean, I can't exactly skip out on work, right?"

"I think you should quit Kaiba Corp," Yugi said. "I know, not exactly the best idea financially, but…if you go back, then Kaiba might just assume things are okay between the two of you. I don't know exactly what happened, but Kaiba was wrong no matter how you look at it and I think that he needs to learn that on his own."

Kisara felt her eyes watering. "But what…if he doesn't fight for me? What am I going to do? I just want to talk and figure things out. I couldn't back there yesterday, but I just…want to know what he's thinking and how he feels and why this happened. I still…believe in him, Yugi. I still think that maybe there is a part of him that loves me, maybe. Possibly."

"And you need to not be okay with that," Yugi said, turning to face her. "You can't be okay with someone breaking a promise and then _maybe _loving you. And honestly, Kisara, if Kaiba doesn't come back to you, I think you have to be ready to face the possibility that it wasn't meant to be—"

"I won't," she said immediately, brushing away a tear. "It hurts. I've never felt more crappy in my life but I can't just stop believing in something I've believed in for ten years, Yugi. He makes mistakes. I think if I go in and talk to him, then—"

"Don't," Yugi said again. "Please, Kisara. I promise that this will only make things better if you don't go in on Monday with the hope of working things out. Kaiba needs to fight. Promise me, okay? Promise you'll…teach him what it means to really fight for something that he cares about."

Kisara pressed her lips together. Then after some time, she let out a breath. "Okay," she said. Yugi smiled a little, pulling Kisara into a hug.

"Things will get better," he assured her. "Good night."

"Yugi," Kisara called, quietly. The man stopped and turned for a bit. She swallowed a lump in her throat, afraid of the answer to her next question. "Do you…think he'll come back for me?"

And to her surprise, Yugi smiled, and nodded. "I do. You're not the only one that believes in Kaiba."

A genuine smile broke out on Kisara's face. "Thank you, Yugi," she said sincerely. "Have a good night."

* * *

><p>There was a knock on her door early Monday morning and Kisara lifted herself from the couch to answer it. "Ta-da," said a voice and Kisara's eyes widened upon seeing Mahad at her doorstep. He was dressed in a violet V-neck shirt and jeans, his joke magician top hat on his head and was giving her jazz hands like he was presenting himself to a cheerleading squad. She froze, toast in mid-chew, her entire body stopping in motion. Mahad looked uneasy, stopping the jazz hands. "Kisa—"<p>

"MAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" she roared, leaping at him full force, the older man stumbling despite being much broader and taller than she was. He laughed, lifting her off the ground. "Oh, my God, you flew to Japan for me? How'd you even know where I live? You're so awesome and amazing, oh my God, you have to meet all of my friends, like they're duelists, you remember when we used to livestream watch Battle City and the Grand Prix? You remember Jonouchi and Yugi and—"

"Woah, woah, slow down," he laughed, tousling her hair. He paused for a moment, his eyes widening. "Wait, holy shit. Did you just say that you know _Yugi_?"

Kisara laughed, nodding. "Yeah, I do."

"Fuck Kaiba, I wanna meet Yugi. Like. Right. Now. Right now! Let's go meet him right now! I'm so excited Kisa, holy shit, we need to go right now!"

She laughed at her twenty-six year old brother. "When do we need to go, Mahad?"

"Right now!" he repeated, pumping his fists and she laughed again. Only her brother could make her laugh like this even when she felt like crap. He blinked at her several times. "Wait a second. Where are you going dressed like a fat cat?"

"Well, that's really mean. As if _you're _not used to dressing in fancy ass suits," she replied jokingly, stepping aside to let her brother in. He dragged two giant suitcases. "What the hell is all of this?"

"You sounded like you were in distress," Mahad said with a shrug as though this was no big deal. "And you're my baby sister so I took off for the summer. It's no big deal, I make a lot of money." He pretended to toss fake bills up into the air.

"_Really_ needed to add that last part," she teased, shaking her head. "And today, I'm going to Kaiba Corp."

Mahad's expression darkened. "Didn't you hear me when I said _fuck Kaiba_?"

"Oh, I did, but this is something different," she replied sarcastically, and Mahad made a disgusted face.

"I know you. It's too soon for jokes, even for you," Mahad said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Kisa. What are you doing?"

She held up a folder. "I'm quitting."

And then Mahad grinned, slapping her on the back. "Alright then, let me personally drive you to Kaiba Corporations so you can slap his face with that folder!"

Kisara laughed as she followed her brother out. "I'm not going to hit him. I'm going to quit."

"That's a two weeks? You better not be going in for the two weeks before that processes," Mahad warned her as they headed down the stairs.

"What? That's so rude, I have to go in. It's not a big deal, I mean, it's another paycheck."

"No, you give him that letter, say fuck you – in _English _so the point _really _sticks – and then twirl around on those inappropriately high heels and march on outta there and never look back," Mahad said, Kisara frowning at his comment about her shoes.

"I can't do that," Kisara said quietly.

"Kisa, you are too nice," Mahad sighed, running a hand through his hair. "And when are we going to meet Yugi? You better take me to meet Yugi like, right after this."

"They're all studying for finals, they're going to be over in a few weeks though, we can set something up with Yugi then. This was really their last free weekend—"

"Aw man," Mahad groaned, making a face. "This blows."

"Your car." Sitting in front of them was a shiny Nissan Skyline. It was colored a deep purple and seemed to be sparkling in the early morning sun.

"Awesome, ain't it?" he said with a grin.

"It wasn't a compliment. Just an observation," Kisara said, shaking her head with a sigh. "You know, Mahad, you're only going to be here for the _summer_. You didn't need to buy a new car."

"I know," he said with a shrug. "But it's not for me." Kisara's eyes widened and a wide grin flashed on Mahad's face. "It's my version of a Get-Well-Soon card! It's a Get-Well-Soon _car_, haaaaa? Awesome, aren't I? Teaching my baby sister how to drive standard – that is a standard car, by the way – and giving her a car seen in movies. I should get the best-big-bro award."

"You are the best big bro ever!" Kisara squealed, clapping her hands together and throwing them around her brother, who lifted her off the earth again. "Ooh, Mana's going to be _so_ mad."

"Yeah, I have something for her later but that's later when I see her," he said with a grin.

"You make too much money."

"You do, too."

"I'm quitting Kaiba Corp."

"You should take the commission check Kaiba gives you."

Kisara scoffed. "Oh, come on. I'm not that scummy."

"What? That'd be scummy if you _didn't _take any money Kaiba gave you. I'm sure that's gonna be one big fuckin' check," he said, and reached into his bag to pull out his copy of a Mini-K. "These are awesome. I have like, five." Kisara didn't doubt that for one second and just laughed a little. "Seriously though. Take that check."

"Really?" Kisara asked, sounding hesitant. "I really don't…want to take it. It'd feel weird."

Mahad sighed, running a hand through his hair as the car purred to life. "Like I said. You're too nice." The drive to Kaiba Corp was filled with chatter; Kisara was so happy that she got to see her brother; it had felt like too long even if she had just gone on the trip this past winter. She loved Mahad. He never, ever disappointed her.

"Need me to come up there?" Mahad asked as they pulled into a parking stall at Kaiba Corp.

"I think I can do it," Kisara said with a little nod. "I think I need to do this by myself." She took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly, gathering up all of her confidence. "I'll be right back."

* * *

><p>The first two weeks Mahad spent in Japan were…difficult. He did his best everyday to cheer her up but to be completely honest it was a little tiring. He was seriously concerned about Kisara but after spilling the beans that night on the phone, she never ever talked about Kaiba. This wasn't healthy.<p>

"Why are you packing?" Mahad asked upon seeing Kisara dropping some of her things into boxes.

"Oh, Jonouchi and Mai are moving in together, so I'm gonna go find a new place," she said with a shrug. She had her hair pushed back with a diamond-studded headband and Mahad frowned.

"Nice headband."

"Thanks," she said, turning away to check her phone. She sighed and dropped it back on the bed.

"What are you hoping for? You think he's going to call you?" Mahad asked.

"Dunno what you're talking about," she said with another shrug. "Just packing my stuff to go apartment hunting soon. Probably might ask some of my classmates where good places to live are, or maybe live on campus or something, I dunno, sounds good."

"I'll buy you a new apartment," Mahad said, waving off her current problem. "You have to stop looking at your phone."

"What?" Kisara furrowed her brows.

"He's not going to call you."

"He might."

"He's not."

"I believe in him."

"Look where that got you."

Kisara pressed her lips together. "Mahad. I know that you care, but please just…leave me be, okay?"

"Give me your phone," Mahad said flatly. Kisara looked weary, but Mahad smiled. "Aw, come on, trust me."

"Fine," she said, tossing it to him. He left the room in a snap and headed into the kitchen with Kisara following him.

"What's for dinner? Spaghetti?" he asked, looking into the boiling pot of noodles. She had let it simmer while she was packing and it was steaming now, so he turned it down.

"Yeah, I thought you'd like some Italian—_Mahad_!" she cried as he dropped her phone into the pot of boiling noodles. "Mahad!" Kisara rushed to the stove, but he blocked her, pulling something out of his pocket. It was a brand new cell phone.

"Stop, this is for your own good," he said, handing it to her. "It's a new number but Jonouchi already told everyone about it, so you have all of their numbers. I actually borrowed your phone yesterday and transferred some important sounding contacts."

"Mahad," she said, sighing. "The noodles."

He looked at the pot sheepishly, turning it off. "I'll get dinner. After we meet Yugi."

Kisara laughed. Yugi and Anzu were supposed to come over for dinner tonight to meet Mahad, and he had been literally leaping out of his pants all week, excited for it. "Why'd you change my number?" she asked, looking through the phone. It was actually very nice; pink, and he had even furnished it with cute phone charms. She could see from the phone in his pocket that he had a matching one.

He shrugged, even though she knew the reason was that so Kaiba wouldn't try and call her. "Change is nice."

There was a sudden knock at the door and Mahad perked up like a puppy hearing his owner turn the lock in the door. "IT'S YUGIIIIII!" he roared, tearing out of the kitchen like a mad man.

"Oh, stop yelling," she giggle, dodging out of the way before Mahad ran her over.

"BUT IT'S YUUUUUGIIIIII!" he cried, and she giggled more about how cute her brother could be. Kisara glanced at the time and felt a little uneasy.

"Yugi-_san_'s not supposed to be here for another hour."

The next few minutes unfolded like a dream. When Kisara saw Kaiba standing at the door the only thing she wanted to do was hug him and beg to talk. It seemed like forever since she had seen him and she had forgotten what it felt like to stare into his electric blue eyes. She felt her eyes watering and she forced herself to stop her voice from shaking.

But she tried to remember what Yugi said. He said to teach Kaiba how to fight. Kisara really didn't want to do that; if he was here then that meant that he _did _want to see her, right? Wait, did he just say something? "I don't want to hear it," she lied. "What's done is done. Let it go, okay? You and I are better off like this, right?"

She seemed to have been waiting for an eternity for his answer. All he needed to do was say one single word: _no _and she would pretend to be angry and then let him in and then maybe they could figure things out. And it wasn't like he could say, "Yes, you're right," after just asking for a chance to explain, so he did still care about her, right? But…he didn't say anything. He just stood there silently, and it hurt. It was like a slap in the face for him to come all the way here and not say anything.

All she wanted to do was cry but she needed to wait a few more seconds. She offered Kaiba a smile despite herself. "Well, uh, thanks for bringing my _manga_. The new _One Outs _comes out next week," she added, knowing that maybe that sounded a little lame but she needed to escape. She slipped into the house and watched his shadow disappear.

* * *

><p>Another two weeks went by and Kisara was…numb. She was tired, all the time. With school out and lack of a job, she literally lazed around the house all day in her pajamas with nothing better to do. Occasionally she went to the bookstore and picked up some <em>manga<em> but for the most part, she stayed at home.

It was driving Mahad crazy. "Enough," he said, hauling her off of the couch one morning. "We're gonna go to _Kaa-san's _okay? Have some dinner with the family, rub in your new car in Mana's face."

"Mana's with Mokuba," Kisara said, picking another soybean off the table. She lived with Mahad in a little studio apartment down the road from Jonouchi's place. Mahad was paying for it for now, while Kisara didn't have a job. The coffee table was littered in days worth of soybeans.

"Well, invite him, too. Going to _Kaa-san_'s. Right now. Now. _Now_," Mahad said, shoving her out the door. Kisara hadn't really spoken to her mother about the entire situation but she could only guess that the woman did know about the split with Kaiba. After all, it was all over the news.

Kisara kind of hated that Mokuba looked at her with a small sense of pity, like she was a wounded puppy, but Kisara knew that was probably how she looked. On the two hour drive there, however, he seemed to have lightened up and was doing his best to cheer up Kisara. She was grateful for his efforts.

"Kisara," her mother greeted, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Mamamamamamamamamamamamama, mom, mom, mom, mummy, mamamamamamamamamaammamama, _kaaaaaaaa-saaaaaan_," Mahad greeted, opening his arms for a hug. Kumiko laughed and obliged, hugging her son. "Oh yeah, can I put the car in the garage?" Kumiko peered around Mahad to see the fancy new sports car and rolled her eyes.

"Sure," she said, waving him off as she let Kisara, Mokuba, and Mana into the house. "Go wash up, dinner's in a bit," she told them as she closed the door. She heard Mahad veer his car into the garage and shut it, but just when she was about to go into the kitchen to prepare dinner, someone knocked on the door. She rolled her eyes to herself; Mahad could be silly sometimes. She smiled as she opened the door, but was surprised as to who it was. "Kaiba-_san_."

He looked awful – almost sickly – but was trying to cover it well. However, the presence that she had sensed in the once strong CEO was no longer there. She had heard about what had happened all over the television and the radio, in magazines and from Kisara herself. He was the last person that she had expected on her doorstep right now.

"I apologize for my unannounced visit, but I…" he paused for a moment, seeming to be thinking of a reason. Kumiko knew there was only one reason that he could be here and she hardened her gaze. If he couldn't even admit— "…do you know where she is?" he asked quietly.

Kumiko's expression didn't falter. "I do," she said, praying that Kisara wouldn't come to the door. "But I'm not going to tell you."

It was hard to turn him down. Even as Kisara's mother, _knowing _that it was her job to protect her eldest daughter, Kumiko believed in fate – it was why Kisara was such a strong believer in things like that as well. Kaiba wouldn't be standing here right now if he never cared about Kisara, right?

But her motherly instincts took over and she had no choice but to turn him away. The rumble of the CEO's engine grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared completely. "_Kaa-san_?" said a voice and Kumiko nearly jumped. Kisara came up, wiping her hands on a paper towel. "What's up? Who was that?"

"A, um, priest," she lied. "Missionaries, you know, coming by and spreading faith. I just turned him away."

"Oh, that's weird," she said, blinking a few times. "I thought…I heard Seto's car. Maybe I'm just imagining things."

"Hearing his car? Come on now, that sounds really desperate and just a little sad, don't you think, Kisa?" Mahad teased, nudging his sister on the shoulder.

Kisara did not think it was funny and pulled out her phone. "Are you sure that wasn't Seto, _Kaa-san_? I mean, I've been driving around with him for some time, I know what his car sounds like. Maybe I should call him. Should I call him? Maybe I should. No, should I? I don't know. But. I think I'm going to call him."

Mahad quickly snatched the phone away. "Kisa, stop," he scolded. Kisara pressed her lips together, seeming to know that she was being ridiculous. Mahad sighed, placing both hands on her shoulders. "You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah."

"And I know that you still love that kid even though he's a total douche right now and I know that Jonouchi and everyone else has been telling you not to give him a chance but I agree with Yugi," Mahad said, and Kisara did not seem surprised. "And I think that the only time that you can call Kaiba or have any kind of friendly contact with him is if he marches right up to you and professes his love. That is the only possible way that you can ever even think of forgiving him and giving him another chance."

Kisara scoffed. "Yeah, like that's ever going to happen."

"And if it doesn't, then that just means that he didn't love you enough and you need to let him go," Mahad said gently. He tousled her hair and tucked her phone in his pocket. "Let's have dinner."

* * *

><p>Kisara struggled. The fight didn't get any better, it only got worse. Mahad cold hear her crying at night and she never wanted to leave the house, just have a staring contest with her phone. On the few ocassions she tried leaving and doing things with friends, she asked to go home early and just watched <em>anime<em>.

"Isn't this how you're supposed to be _in _a relationship?" Mahad asked. "Tired all the time, staying home and watching TV, not hanging out with friends? Come on, you're single, Kisa, go out and have some fun!"

She offered her brother a smile. "It's okay, Mahad. Thanks, though."

"Hoped you would say something depressing like that, so I got us these," he said, holding up two plane tickets. Kisara looked at the destination and immediately perked up.

"Oh, this actually sounds like fun," she said with the first genuine smile he had seen in a week. "When are we going?"

"Tomorrow," he said with a grin. "Everyone's coming to see us off."

Kisara nodded slowly. "I should…call Seto and tell him that I'm leaving."

"No," Mahad said immediately. "The only way that I'm going to let you on that plane with me is if you shut up about Kaiba. It's done Kisa. It's been six weeks. If he hasn't come by now then he's never going to come."

"But he does love me," she said, sounding instantly upset. "He'll come, okay?"

"Have you even seen him _at all_? Has he called you _one time_?"

"Well I don't work at Kaiba Corp, and he doesn't know where we live. And he doesn't have my new number because _someone_ changed it," Kisara shot back.

Mahad actually scoffed. "Okay, don't get sassy with me, baby sister. Don't forget how easy it is for a man like him to get your phone number. He just isn't trying. He doesn't love you, so give up."

Kisara seemed to have felt that one, right in the chest. Mahad thought she was going to cry, but instead she took in a deep breath. "I never…thought that I would ever give up," shes aid quietly. "But I'm tired, Mahad. I'm so tired of crying and waiting and just…doing nothing and having nothing and believing in something that…may not even have ever been there."

Mahad's expression softened at his sister's words. "I know it's hard, Kisa, but…I think that us leaving is for the better. You need to get away from this apartment and this city – from Japan. You fought your whole life for this and wasn't rewarded with the kind of love you deserve."

Kisara nodded, a few tears slipping out from her eyes. "I tried, right?" she said, sobbing quietly.

Mahad nodded firmly. "You did." He reached over and pulled his sister into a hug as she just cried and cried. Tomorrow, he promised, would be different.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for all the reads and reviews, I appreeeeeciate them a lot!~~~ **


	31. Chapter 31: Really, Really

**PRESENT DAY**

Kaiba felt like he had just been shot at point blank. He was completely dumbfounded, shocked that after everything, after _everything _he had just said, she could still…leave. She really didn't love him anymore, did she? Kaiba leaned down to pick up his briefcase, honest to God feeling like if he didn't stand up and leave right now, he would just…keel over. He exhaled and seemed to use all the strength in his body to turn and leave.

Yugi stopped him, also seeming surprised at Kisara's response. He had been positivethat this would have worked. "Kaiba, I—"

"I don't need your pity," Kaiba snapped quietly. "What's done is done." And with that he forced himself to take one step forward. And then step again, one foot in front of the other. He needed to leave and figure out something to do now. He was so, so sure that she would give him another chance that he didn't even really put into consideration that she might be completely over him.

He was a fool. Kaiba was a _fool _to expect Kisara to believe him completely. He had certainly acted like a jerk for a while now but he had hope that maybe she hadn't lost all of _her_ hope in him. He was wrong and he was a _fool_. And how many people had he just blurted out that ridiculous love confession to? Practically everyone in that little fucking lobby had just been staring right at them. But it was over now, wasn't it? He was going to be alone for the rest of his life, and Mokuba was right; the only person to blame was himself.

"Say it again," he heard a voice call, and he turned his head slightly. It could be his mind playing tricks on him. He spotted the silver haired girl behind him, looking out of breath, like she had darted through the airport to come after him.

"What?" was the most intelligible thing he could muster at the moment.

"Say it again," Kisara breathed. "Tell me…that you love me."

Kaiba didn't really know what to think. But he turned his body to face her, nearly desperate even though he didn't understand what the hell she was doing. She could be just embarrassing him – which he knew he deserved – but, what the hell did he have to lose? "Kisara, I love you," he said, without hesitation.

Kisara flashed him his favorite sweet smile and Kaiba could have sworn that in that moment, the world seemed to become right again. "Really?" she breathed, wiping a tear that fell from her blue eyes. She walked closer to him, still smiling and crying at the same time. Kaiba didn't understand girls but perhaps was not the best time to say that. "Really? Do you really love me?"

Kaiba didn't particularly understand the question. Was it rhetorical? "Well, I obviously wouldn't be here if I didn't—" he said, but was interrupted with Kisara throwing her arms around him and catching his lips in a kiss. The feeling of their kiss was like coming up for air after drowning. It was refreshing, exciting, enlightening, heart-stopping, and overall…amazing. He couldn't even really believe that it was happening, even as he kissed her back. She pulled back, smiling as she kept both of her tiny hands on his cheeks.

"Awesome," she said, tears flowing down her cheeks. "'Cause I still love you."

Kaiba felt like he was in some kind of dream. But he could feel her body against him, and he could still feel the lingering shadow of their shared kiss on his lips. It had to be real, right?

However, before he could say anything, he saw that coming after Kisara was the man she was always with and Kisara stepped forward like she was going to say something but Kaiba moved in front of her first as though protecting her. The man looked like he was going to speak but Kaiba interrupted him. "She made her choice and I sure as hell am not about to let Kisara go gallivanting off with some good for nothing pretty-boy. So I suggest you turn around and _walk away_," he said coldly, and the man looked surprised, but he also looked like he was going to laugh. Had Kaiba lost his intimidation factor?

Kisara pressed her lips together, looking like she was going to laugh as well. She stepped in front of Kaiba and wiped her tears before running a hand through her hair. "Seto, um, this is Mahad," she said, gesturing to the man, who lifted his hand to smile and wave. Kaiba didn't give a flying fuck who he was until she added, "My brother."

Kaiba blinked a few times. "Your…what?"

Kisara laughed. "I'm adopted, remember? Mana is adopted. Mahad is adopted. He's here visiting during the summer."

"But you were going on a plane together," he said, as though this would suddenly change the fact that Kisara and this man that he had thought this _entire time _to be her boyfriend was actually her adopted brother.

"We were going to the beach," Kisara said with a laugh. "A good beach. You know in Iriomote? We were going on vacation for a little; we both love beach stuff. I had to get back on the plane 'cause I couldn't just let him go to Iriomote alone." Iriomote was in Okinawa. They were taking a plane from Japan to…another part of Japan.

Kaiba was horribly embarrassed. "I apologize," he said to Mahad.

Mahad grinned, shaking his head. "It's okay," he told Kaiba. He had to be civil, right? This man had, believe it or not, professed his love to Kisara in front of a rather large amount of people and then just _gave her _a gigantic amount of his company to try and prove it. He was, indeed, a moron when it came to romance, but Mahad knew that Kaiba really did love Kisara. He held out his hand. "Nice to finally meet you, I'm Ryusei Mahad. I've heard a lot about you," he said, still grinning as Kaiba gave her brother a firm handshake.

"I'm sure," Kaiba replied dryly, still a little embarrassed and Mahad chuckled.

"Mahad works in Vegas as a magician," Kisara said, sounding _so_ impressed. Her eyes seemed to have turned into stars as she marveled her brother's accomplishment as an entertainer. Kaiba was not a big fan of magic, but this was Kisara's _older brother_ for fuck's sake.

"Magic sounds like a very stable career," Kaiba replied, no emotion, and Kisara giggled, knowing that was not what Kaiba thought at all. Mahad seemed to know that, too, and laughed, waving him off.

"Maybe you can come with Kisa-_chan _to Vegas during the fall," he suggested playfully.

"I'll think about it," Kaiba said, and Kisara giggled, knowing that was his version of saying "fuck no". She grabbed the briefcase that he was holding and grinned.

"49% of Kaiba Corporations, huh? That's a lot of money that'd make up for my unemployment," Kisara said, opening it to take a peek. "Thanks."

Kaiba looked extremely uneasy. He seemed to honestly think that she was not going to take it but now that she had, he couldn't exactly tell her no, right? "Yes. Be…sure not to sell those."

She giggled, throwing the briefcase back at his chest. He barely caught it, surprised by the rough action. "My God, you didn't think I'd be serious, right? No _way _can I have 49% of a company! I can barely eat more than beans at a restaurant. Stop being ridiculous."

Kaiba let out a breath of relief and Kisara giggled as Yugi and his friends caught up to them, smiling warmly. "We should get going soon," Kisara said, smiling. "Seto owes me and Mahad a flight on his private jet to Iriomote." Kaiba did not argue and so Mahad and Kisara slammed their hands together in a very enthusiastic high-five. Kaiba knew that these two were definitely related and was even more embarrassed that he thought otherwise.

They chatted for a bit, everyone congratulating Kisara and tossing Kaiba a few empty threats about hurting her and getting hurt in return, but it was otherwise…nice. He did know that they harbored a little resentment towards him but he also knew that he would do his best to try and make it up to them as well and show them that he could take care of Kisara for real. Words were really all that he needed to try and make things right again.

"You're not off the hook, you know," Kisara said, nudging him. "You still have a lot of explaining to do and a lot of chocolates and melon sodas and vacation get-aways to buy for me," she teased, grinning, but Kaiba already knew all of that, not seeming to know that she was just joking.

"Fine," he said, and Kisara stuck her tongue out teasingly.

Jonouchi came forth and surprisingly, spoke to Kaiba directly. "Yennoe, I gotcha pegged for a jerk, but that was actually pretty nice back there," he said. "I hope you know what you did wrong. Don't make me say _it_ ever again," Jonouchi added, raising both his eyebrows. The young CEO knew what Jonouchi was talking about and hated that he had proven the blonde right one time.

Kaiba nodded once, curtly and Kisara was afraid he'd say something antagonizing, but instead, he said this, "I'll be around, so we can put this behind us." And to everyone's surprise, he held out his hand for Jonouchi to shake. The blonde seemed the most shocked and needed a few seconds to recover before taking Kaiba's hand. He tossed Jonouchi a smirk and raised his eyebrow mockingly. "Good boy."

Kisara actually laughed at that one, and Jonouchi looked torn between being insulted and wanting to laugh as well. They turned to leave, but before doing so, Kaiba paused. He knew that if one person had not even had the tiniest sliver of hope in him then he would not be here. "Yugi," he said, turning to the smaller man. "Thank you."

* * *

><p>But nevertheless, Kaiba awoke alone. He ran a hand through his hair and stretched his arm out over the side of the bed only to feel cold sheets beneath his fingers. He felt his chest tighten. That wasn't a dream, right? It couldn't have been. He glanced around the room, bathed in morning light to see…absolutely nothing.<p>

The young CEO swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, hoping that he would hear the showering running as he pushed open the door to his room and headed into the hallway. But the bathroom light was off.

Kaiba felt like he was going to throw up. His mind was a master at playing tricks on him, wasn't it? And what a sick, twisted trick to play. He'd completely dreamt up going to the airport, didn't he? Kaiba had no idea what to do now. Where was Kisara? What was she doing? Did she really get on a plane and leave Japan?

He froze upon entering the living room and setting eyes upon the kitchen. Kisara was dressed in an apron, fixing pancakes on the stove. Her hair was tied back and the television was on to the morning anime. Kaiba rubbed his eyes. He wasn't hallucinating, was he?

"Morning," she said to Kaiba. "I was making pancakes to make you feel guilty for being a jerk," she added with a bright smile. "Does the sweet smell of chocolate chip pancakes make you feel like a jerk?"

Kaiba didn't say anything, just stepped into the kitchen. How long was he going to hallucinate for? She'd just fade away, right?

Kisara raised an eyebrow. "Okay, you know I'm joking, right, Seto? Well, not really, but kind of. I was thinking we could have breakfast and talk some more before I ask you for my job back."

He grabbed her wrist and with his other hand, tilted her face up to sweep her into a deep kiss. It felt real. So real that it almost hurt, their lips twisting together sensually, the feel of her hand on his chest. He pulled back out of breath and Kisara giggled, trying to regain hers. "Why don't you go brush your teeth and then we can have breakfast."

As the morning went by, Kaiba realized that this was all 100% real. And he couldn't have been happier. He had received his second chance, hadn't he? He certainly did not plan on messing it up. "Get dressed," he told her after she finished the dishes. He was already in a suit, ready for work.

"Where am I going?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "To _work_. You're the lead programmer of my company, aren't you?"

Kisara paused for a moment, and then grinned, nodding. "Hell yeah, I am!"

She flew past him to grab one of the suits she had left at his penthouse and followed him out the door into his Lexus. The ride to work was just as pleasant as Kaiba remembered, with Kisara recalling some interesting points of the time they had been separated. She didn't make things awkward at all; it really was like they were starting over.

But this was not what Kaiba wanted. "Kisara," he said as he parked, before she could get out of the car. "I appreciate your effort, but that is not necessary."

"What?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I am well aware that I did make a mistake and you do not need to wipe my slate clean without evidence of my true feelings for you," he continued. "I appreciate that you have given me a chance, and so I plan on proving to you that I do love you."

Kisara smiled gently. "I know," she said, laughing. "You have a lot of proving to do."

"I know," he agreed and she turned to leave, but he grabbed her hand briefly. Kisara turned to him and for the first time, it was she that obliged to place a gentle kiss on his lips. They left the car and then entered the building together.

There was a lot of talk, but Kaiba just ignored it. Let them talk. He had everything he could have ever possibly wanted and he wasn't planning on letting her go, not for an instant. He had learned what it meant to love someone – what it meant to fight for and cherish that person.

"So who's been the lead programmer since I was gone?" she asked as the elevator rose. "Ryuji-_san_?"

Kaiba scoffed. "No," he told her as she laughed at his rather unhesitant answer. "I hadn't hired another one."

"So, what've they been doing?"

"Nothing."

"That's not cool."

"That's why we are meeting today to talk about a new project," Kaiba sighed as though this were supposed to be obvious. From his briefcase, he plucked a slip of paper. "Now that you work for this company again, here is your commission from the past six weeks of your sales, as well as your bonus for completing the project."

Kisara took the check and nearly fainted from the immense sum written on the check. It was more money that she had ever seen in her entire life. "Oh my, God."

"Get used to it," Kaiba told her. "If I can have my way – which, in fact, _I can_ – you will be employed here for the rest of your life."

Kisara laughed, swatting him on the shoulder as the elevator doors opened to her floor. "This is awesome. I can buy a bigger apartment closer to work and school."

"Or you can move into my penthouse," Kaiba said, surprising her. For a second she thought that he wasn't serious, but from the look on his face, she knew that he was. He kissed her head briefly. "I will give you time to think it over. See you for the meeting."

Kisara smiled, nodding as the doors started to close. "Sounds good." She turned on her heels and headed into the glass box in the center of the floor as though it were no one's business. She smiled at Kaiba's efficiency in giving her things to do. Her caldendar was marked with a ten A.M. meeting this morning and she checked through the files routinely, turning on her computer to proofread codes.

"Ki…sara?" Otogi asked, as though unsure of who was sitting next to him.

"_Ohayou_," she greeted with a bright smile.

Otogi raised an eyebrow, but seemed to understand what was going on. It seems that Kaiba had won after all, hadn't he? Otogi's expression changed into a grin and he tousled her hair. "Welcome back."

Kisara had a few folders with her with prospective ideas that her department had shouted out to her for future projects they would like to work on. She headed up with them to Kaiba's floor, where the meeting was being held. At exactly 9:59 AM, she entered the room with a bright smile on her face.

"Good morning," she greeted the elder gentlemen sitting around the table, and Kaiba nodded his head at the seat by his side. The meeting went by splendidly. Kaiba was efficient at shutting down the other stockholders and letting Kisara talk about her department's ideas. At the end of the morning, Kisara had several small projects for her department to work on and couldn't be more pleased.

"Well, have you thought it out?" Kaiba asked when the last person left the room and it was only the two of them.

"Hmm?" Kisara looked up from gathering her papers.

"Moving in with me," Kaiba said, right to the point. "Have you decided?"

Kisara blinked a few times, a little taken aback with his sudden forwardness in their relationship. Usually, after just getting together officially _yesterday_, a woman would be a little put off by a man asking her to move in with him. But…Kisara found it cute. He was trying.

She took a deep breath. "I don't think we should move in together."

Kaiba stayed silent at first, and then said, "Would you mind elaborating?"

Kisara laughed as they both stood up. "It's a little soon, right?"

"You've practically been living with me up until…_that_…happened," he said, choosing his words carefully. "What would be the difference if you were to gather your belongings and place them in my penthouse? You already have a vanity in my bedroom."

"Well, Mahad just bought me an apartment. Remember you said those things have like, lease thingies? I don't know if I can get out of it so soon."

Kaiba hardened his gaze. "Stop making excuses."

Kisara giggled again. Kaiba knew her too well. "I think really moving in together is like…something big and something exciting. If we're just moving in together to settle a fight, then it won't be special, and I want it to be. Does the offer of me moving in, like, stand even a month or two from now? A year from now?"

Kaiba scoffed. "While I do love you very much, understand that I am not always so generous," he said, and Kisara laughed at his ability to tell her that he loved her while also telling her that he didn't care for her _that_ much.

"Okay, then I'll never move in," she teased.

"Fine, think of it as a bad joke then," he retorted just as sarcastically. She swatted his shoulder and he didn't react, which made her laugh once again. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was not so used to rejection that it was offsetting and embarrassing that his first attempt at trying to amend things was not successful. But he did know that she was right. So, he just awkwardly patted her head as he walked her to the stairs. "Lunch, then."

She smiled, nodding. "Lunch," she agreed. "And Seto," she added, and Kaiba turned on his heel to leave but Kisara grabbed his hand, holding him there for a moment. She offered him his favorite smile in the world. He knew that she was no longer talking about their afternoon meal when she said, "We'll get there."

* * *

><p><strong>FIVE YEARS LATER<strong>

Kaiba never awoke alone anymore, but he still came out of the shower to see his girlfriend – five years and that word was still a little odd for him – sitting on the couch eating toast and watching _anime_ with his little brother. And Mana. Kaiba did not like that little tan Ryusei in his house but she was still here. _All the time_.

"Morning, poopy face," she greeted, just like every other morning, and Kaiba, as usual, would scowl in response.

"Break up with her already, Mokuba," Kaiba told his brother distastefully as he sat next to Kisara. She handed him a plate of toast and he took it, along with one of her sweet morning kisses.

It had been a long uphill battle, but Kaiba managed to prove to her that he was sincere about his feelings. This did not mean, however, that he had stopped trying to show her that he cared for he knew how easy it could be for someone to walk out of his life. In fact, she hadn't even officially moved in until a little over a year had passed of them being together. They did fight every now and then but when Kaiba knew that he was wrong, he had learned that it was all right to swallow his pride and apologize where apologies were due. Kisara appreciated this.

"We're never going to break up," Mana said sticking her tongue out at Kaiba. "I'm gonna be here forever, poopy face."

"Well, move out of my penthouse and find your own place to live."

"How come Kisara gets to live here then?" she asked as though this were the end-all question.

"You're an idiot if you don't know the answer to that," Kaiba said. Mana was twenty-two now and graduating from Domino University in advertising and marketing. Kaiba, succeptible to Kisara's sweet requests, had agreed to giving Mana and internship while she was still in college, and therefore succumbed himself to seeing the younger Ryusei all day, nearly _everyday_.

"Well, I'm a girlfriend of a Kaiba, so how come I can't live in the Kaiba Penthouse?"

"First of all, it is not _called _the Kaiba Penthouse, and second of all, I don't like you. I never liked you. I just _have _to like you because you are Kisara and Mahad's sister, and Mokuba's annoying girlfriend. It is quite unfortunate for me," he said, but Mana just laughed, swatting him on the shoulder the way Kisara did when she thought Kaiba was just kidding. He turned to his own Ryusei. "Your sister believes I am joking."

Kisara just giggled, and swatted his shoulder as she ate toast, further proving him point of why having two Ryusei's could be a pain. His phone beeped and he pulled it out of his pocket to see a text message from Kisara's brother, Mahad. It was a picture message of himself grinning broadly, holding a paper sign that read, "SUP KAIBA! SEE YOU SOON!" Kaiba rolled his eyes at it and did not respond. He occasionally received random text messages from Kisara's brother, and was not even sure of how Mahad had Kaiba's personal phone number anyway.

But Mahad's approval was very important to Kaiba since Kisara idolized her brother so Kaiba actually tried to make an effort to be…_friendly_. It had worked too successfully, however, as now Mahad considered them 'best friends' and visited Japan way too much for Kaiba's liking.

"Mm, yeah, don't forget we're going to my parent's place for the weekend," Kisara reminded Kaiba, poking him shoulder.

"I haven't forgotten," Kaiba said, showing Kisara the message he received from her brother. She giggled.

"That's cute, Mahad likes you."

"I don't think you know the definition of 'cute'."

"I'm cute."

Kaiba just scoffed and Kisara giggled again. Mana rolled her eyes. "Jeez, it must suck to be an old boring couple, huh? Spending your five year anniversary with our parents." She made gagging noises and Kisara laughed, shaking her head.

"Oh, you're one to judge. What'd you and Mokuba do for four years?"

Mana blushed, looking away. "Stayed in our pajamas and ate ice cream."

"Seto and I went to Bora Bora," she said with a grin.

"Next year, we're going to France!" Mana said, punching the couch. Mokuba laughed, and Kisara knew that she was just making that up, as Mokuba seemed to actually be pondering the idea.

"Whatever, we've _been_ there for a motha'fuckin' weekend, bitch," Kisara said, pretending to dust dirt off her shoulders as Kaiba rolled his eyes.

Mana made a pouty face and Mokuba laughed, kissing her cheek. "We'll go to France _and _Ireland after you graduate."

"Yeah, and when I get pictures of Lochness, then you're gonna read 'em and weep," Mana said, sticking her tongue out at her sister, who only laughed. Kaiba used to get mildly annoyed when the two of them would pretend they liked being rich and spoiled when really, the Kaiba brothers had to drag them kicking and screaming to anything seemingly luxurious. But now he had gotten used to the Ryusei's competing.

"Oh, yeah," Kisara said, holding her hand out to Kaiba. "Where's my present?"

"Present?" Kaiba asked, as though disgusted. "What makes you think you deserve a _present_?" Kisara snickered, kissing his forehead and he just rolled his eyes. A bit more chatter and then the four of them headed to school and work, ready to finish the last day before their weekend in the country with the Ryusei family.

* * *

><p>Kaiba resisted the urge to sigh upon seeing a rental car parked in the driveway. It was a bright yellow Mitsubishi with black racing stripes. Mahad was already here. Kaiba swerved the car next to Mahad's and parked it, Mana and Kisara flying from the car excitedly. Even though they visited home a lot, the girls were still excited to see their family every single time.<p>

Kaiba took a deep breath and followed them into the house. Tonight was probably the single most important day in his life. Kumiko greeted them at the door with hugs. "Congratulations on five years," she told Kaiba, pulling the taller man into a hug. At first, Kaiba had been extremely uncomfortable with people other than Kisara touching him and actually dreaded coming to the Ryusei house simple because he didn't want to hug Kumiko. But he had finally come to learn what it felt like to be a part of a real family and it was one of the best feelings he had ever experienced.

"Thank you," Kaiba said politely, and Kumiko laughed to herself.

"No need for formalties, Kaiba-_san_," she said.

"You're one to talk, Kumiko," he responded, making the woman laugh again. He moved past her into the house and was greeted with a big broad wave from Mahad. "Remind me again how _old _you are?" Kaiba mumbled before Mahad bounded over to hug Kaiba.

"Thirty-three," he said with a grin.

"It was rhetorical," Kaiba informed Mahad, who just laughed like all the other Ryusei's did when they thought that Kaiba was joking. But Mahad didn't seem to hear and happily greeted his sisters before plopping down on the couch with his father.

Takeshi smiled upon seeing Kaiba and raised his glass of beer. "Three cheers to five years," he said with a grin.

"Thanks," Kaiba said, actually a little surprised that Kisara's parents were congratulating him on their anniversary. He didn't even know Kisara had told them that it was their five year anniversary today but Kaiba didn't care; he actually preferred it. He removed his coat and sat next to Takeshi on the couch. Mahad handed him an Asahi Super Dry as they watched television together.

"Baaaaaaaaaaaaabyyyy," Kisara called and Kaiba turned, furrowing his brows.

"I have asked you before to stop addressing me with that pet name of yours," Kaiba said but Kisara responded with a smile.

"Baby, I'm gonna go help _Kaa-san _in the kitchen. Are you okay with Mahad and _Tou-san_?" she asked, flashing Kaiba the smile he could not resist.

He sighed, despite not liking being called 'baby'. He would rather Kisara just use his name, but when he had tried bringing it up before she had laughed and called him a woman, saying that only women complain about that sort of thing. He did not want her to repeat that story to her family. "I'm fine."

"Okay," she said and disappeared with Mana into the kitchen with Kumiko. There was a silence between the three men left in the living room, like the Ryusei's didn't want to say anything. Kaiba didn't understand why, so he just did not say anything.

"That's a little girly," Mahad said after some time, breaking the silence.

"What?" Kaiba asked, turning to harden his gaze at Mahad as though challenging him.

"You don't like being called 'baby'?" Mahad said, laughing. "That's cute, baby. I know you love Kisa and everything, but, baby, you gotta let her have her freedom to do her own stuff, ya know, baby?"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes at Mahad, who just laughed but didn't say a word.

After some time, the girls came out with dinner. It was just like every weekend they spent together; Kaiba didn't feel out of place at all. Sure, it was weird when he first started coming back because he knew that her family sort of hated him for everything they had heard on the news. It did take them a while to fully believe that it had been a misunderstanding and that he was trying hard everyday for Kisara, but things had finally gotten back to normal. No, things were better than normal; they were fantastic. Kaiba finally had a group of people he could call family.

His phone vibrated for a bit and he glanced at it to see texts from Yugi and Anzu, and Honda congratulating him on his five years with Kisara. How did they even know? Kaiba glanced at the talkative silver haired woman at his side and all questions were answered. He thought it was cute that she had shared this with so many people, but he would, of course, not tell her that. It was refreshing, though; not only did Kaiba have a family, but he also had…friends. He never thought he would need that group of people or ever respect them but it was because of them that he had ended up with Kisara in the first place. He owed them a lot but it didn't even feel like a weight.

Kaiba felt human. Finally. It had taken him nearly twenty years, but _finally_, he had people in his life he could trust for real. And the only person he could really thank for that was the beautiful woman sitting beside him.

The family had engaged in some talk about Mahad's new show in Vegas, and Kaiba was actually listening, until Kisara grabbed his hand, squeezing it lightly. "I love you," she said softly, offering him that sweet smile of hers. "And I know that we've had our stuff, but really, Seto, I am so, so happy that you've decided to stay in my life. You're amazing, and…I love you."

"And I love you," Kaiba said. He was still unable to completely smile so the closest Kisara got was a slight upward turn of his lips, but she was still happy with it.

"Aw, you're so cute, baby," Mahad said, grinning at the two of them. Kaiba rolled his eyes at Kisara's older brother, unfazed.

"You are just jealous because you are without a woman," Kaiba countered, receiving an "ooooooohhhhh" from Mana and a playful shove.

"Oy, oy, I could get any woman I wanted back in Vegas," Mahad said, surprised that Kaiba was actually making fun of him.

"I'm sure. But not one of them would come even close to the quality of woman I have next to me," Kaiba said, and Kisara smiled at Kaiba's compliment, while Mahad had nothing to say. Kaiba took a deep breath. "Speaking of…that. I also actually wanted to come here for something else."

Kaiba forcedh is hands not to shake as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny black box. However, instead of opening it for Kisara, he turned to Takeshi and flipped it open. Takeshi's eyes widened. Inside of the tiny box was the largest diamond he had ever seen. It seemed to illuminate the entire room.

"Oh, my God," Kisara said flatly, watching the scene before her unfold.

"I love your daughter," Kaiba said to Takeshi. "And while I know I had done her wrong in the past, I have worked hard every single day to prove to her – and to you and your family – that my feelings are real. Kisara is the best thing that ever happened to me and I would be a complete fool to not see, understand, and cherish this fact. Honestly, if I thought even for one second that there was another man on the face of this earth that would be able to provide for her any better than I could then I would not be sitting here in front of you tonight. I would be honored to have your blessing to—"

"Wait, wait, wait," Kisara said, closing the box. Kaiba turned to her, not sure why she would interrupt. He had rehearsed this for weeks! Was his voice not firm enough? Did his words not make sense? "Are you _seriously_ asking me to marry you?"

"If you would let me finish speaking to your father—"

"Why?" she asked, seeming alarmed. Kaiba didn't understand what she was so roused up about. She didn't _seem _angry, but then Kaiba wouldn't understand why she would be angry in the first place. He forced himself to remain calm. "Was it something I said, or, like, I don't know? Why?"

"Well, you did mention marriage two months ago—"

"When we were at Jonouchi's _wedding_? Of course I mentioned getting married, because we were at a _wedding_!"

"Why are you upset?" Kaiba asked, staring at her. "Isn't it a goal of most normal women to want to be married? You said that you wanted to get married one day, so—"

"Well, _yeah_. But I mean, when I said it at Jonouchi's, it was like, a joke! It wasn't like, a hint, or like, pressuring you, I was just saying it. I didn't meant to make you feel like you need to marry me to make me happy or something. I'm fine with the way things are; I don't want to pressure you into doing this if you don't want to—"

"I bought this ring five years ago," Kaiba snapped impatiently. Kisara froze at that, allowing Kaiba the chance to speak. "Five years ago _tomorrow_, actually, the day after you and I got back together."

"So…you've just been carrying it around in your pocket for five years?" Kisara asked as though not sure what to say. From the look on her face, Kaiba could tell that she was resisting the urge to tell him that she actually thought that was cute of him to do so. He would give her an earful later, when he was less annoyed with how this situation turned out.

"What else was I supposed to do with it? You're so nosy; you go through all of my things. If I did not keep it on me at all times, you would have found it," Kaiba replied.

"Why are you asking me now?"

"I didn't actually _ask _you yet, Kisara—"

"Well, why are you asking my dad for permission now then?"

"Why are you still questioning me?" Kaiba asked, getting annoyed now. "Do you not believe my feelings for you?"

"No, it's not that," she assured him, shaking her head. "I don't know, I just—"

"Do you know why I bought this ring five years ago?"

"Good deal at the ring shop?"

Kaiba ignored her stupid answer. "Because I knew that there would be no other woman who I would want to spend the rest of my life with other than you. You are annoying, and loud and a lot of time you don't make sense but you are…mine. You are _my _annoying, loud, stupid woman and I _love_ you. I kept the ring with me for so long without asking you to marry me because I did not want to push you away. I knew you were just beginning to trust me again and I knew that you would not be ready to marry me one day after we had gotten back together. Five years later, and I _still_ do not completely believe you are ready to marry me but I cannot wait any longer.

"When I think of you, I think of family. I think of all the things I've never been able to have and always wanted and you have been able to actually give me that which I longed for. You have opened my eyes to a world that I had chosen to turn away from; you have shown me that I am not alone." He opened the box again and showed her the giant diamond ring. "I kept this ring for five years because it now, it is everything we have shared together these five years. It is our past, and it is our future. I want to start this next chapter in our lives."

By the end of Kaiba's speech, Kisara was crying and he was completely dumbfounded. This was not how he had planned things out in his mind. He had planned on asking Takeshi, getting a yes, asking Kisara, getting a yes, and then drinking and drinking to forget anything embarrassing he might have said, and then Kisara starting planning the wedding tomorrow morning.

He glanced over at Mana, who, too, was crying but trying not to show it, wiping her tears away subtly. Even Kumiko was crying as well. Kaiba would not ever, ever, _ever _understand women. "Really?" Kisara said, wiping her tears. Mahad and Takeshi smiled warmly. "Do you really want to marry me?"

Kaiba sighed. "Do _you_ want to marry _me_?"

Through her tears, Kisara flashed Kaiba his most favorite smile. "Yes," she said, wiping away a tear. "I do."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank you for all the support through this story. First fanfiction I've ever finished and it's thanks to my readers that I've been able to; you've inspired me and made me a better writer :) I'm truly grateful. Please feel free to let me know what you think, I could not have gathered the will to finish this story without you folks~~~~ Have a lovely day!**


	32. AN: Possible Sequel Information?

A/N: Okay, I have been having some reviews and PMs about a sequel and I really would like to write one but I'm not sure what it would be about. I've kind of lost inspiration for this couple, as much as I do love it, my pairings shift a lot. I've been trying to re-read my old chapters to get more inspiration and to be honest, I do have little drabble ideas but I don't think I would be able to pull out a full blown plot. I mean I have like…mini-plots…but they got together so I'm not sure if anyone would even want to read that, haha.

If I were to do a sequel, though, would you, as readers, prefer the time period to be during the five year time skip, like, recapping for lost time and just some stuff the two of them went through? Or have it be after the time skip, after the proposal? I don't…really have ideas for the latter, but I just wanted to ask, in case I did decide to write a sequel, which I can't promise until after Christmas, if, at all (school's getting nuts). If the latter is preferred then I can try to think of stuff, or I'd be happy to take suggestions…?

Sooooo maybe just PM me orrrrr email me (jharada8[at]hawaii[dot]edu) or something with your suggestions and I'll try my best. Thanks again for all of your support through this story, and even afterwards, those pleasant reviews really made me happy :D Have a lovely day!

-J


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